Watashigairu
by Dyx42069
Summary: From the perspective of the RomCom God, gender matters not.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1

There are those who say youth is a lie, but only because they are not living the rose coloured life they intended to have. Their hypocritical yapping is nothing but sour grapes. Even beyond the level of an illusion, youth is a sorry excuse.

Those who adopt the pretense of being young and utilise it to delude themselves with the great sophistry that they are forgivable for their mistakes fail to realise that they are merely playing into society's hands. Using such flimsy words as a shield, they accept lies, secrets, sins and failure as no more than the colour in their lives. Almost as if such mistakes are something to be proud of, and to add purpose to one's existence.

If the spice of life known as "youth" is a lie, should not an individual bereft of these experiences be considered an elite, a higher being in today's society? But those driven mad by youthful dreams would vehemently object, instead distorting the reality around themselves to fit their expectations; a failure of a project becomes a learning experience, the loss of a friendship is merely the opportunity to meet new people, and the rejection of a lovelorn proposal is quickly pushed to the side. To those driven delirious by the idea of experiencing youth, I offer my sincerest condolences.

"...The hell is this?" Hiratsuka sensei slams the sheet of paper down on her table, causing the rest of the staffroom to turn in her direction.

Hikigaya Hachikuji flinches under their gazes. She isn't used to the eyes of so many teachers, or anyone for that matter.

" _Hikigaya-chan,_ would you _please_ remind me what I asked you to write?"

 _Damn, this teacher is scary!_ In a state of conditioned reflex, Hachikuji looks away from the demonic expression on her teacher's face.

"...An essay looking back on my life in high school," she replies.

In her defense, Hachikuji had tried her best to write something positive, she really had. But all that came out were things like "eating lunch alone beside the tennis courts" and "playing chess with myself during recess", and Hiratsuka-sensei would have killed her for writing those things down anyway. Hence this essay was born.

"And you came up with this. A critical essay targeting our education of youths. How in the world did it turn into this?" Hiratsuka-sensei sighs, crumpling the piece of paper into a ball and deftly tossing it into the trash can under her desk.

At a loss of words for this "teacher" who apparently can't appreciate modern literature, Hachikuji opts not to respond to Hiratsuka-sensei's provocations and instead remains silent, staring at the ground in what could be interpreted both as bashfulness or sheer boredom.

Hiratsuka-sensei adopts the look of a posed teacher: leaning forward, arms crossed and rested on the table, facial features twisted in a long-suffering grimace. "...Your eyes are seriously dead, aren't they. Just what do you see through them?"

Hiratsuka-sensei has a sort of natural inclination. It has less to do with whichever star she was born under and, Hachikuji feels, has more to do with her laid-back attitude which heavily contrasts her responsibility-ridden role as a teacher.

Nobody can take her seriously, especially when she says things like this.

Of course, Hachikuji has heard this line many times, and she certainly cannot deny the fact that her sole pair of eyes looks like that of a dead fish's. It's an indication of her intelligence, she likes to tell herself.

"A senior citize-" Hachikuji almost remarks, but the single teacher decades past marrying age abruptly interrupts her mid-sentence with a forceful knee to her gut.

The onlooking teachers simultaneously turn their heads back in a belated display of disinterest.

Moaning in agony on the floor, Hachikuji clutches her stomach in pain amidst Hiratsuka-sensei's vehement clarifications ("I'm twenty-eight, you damn brat! Just a few years older than you!"). The general atmosphere among the other teachers seems to be that of amusement, though none of them have lifted a finger to stop this blatant case of student abuse. Trust them to turn a blind eye to issues outside their paycheck.

Looking up, Hachikuji realises that Hiratsuka-sensei is staring intently at her. This is not, by any definition, a good sign.

"You swing that way?"

Squeezing her eyes shut in annoyance, Hiratsuka-sensei replies with a curt "Follow me" and swiftly exits the staffroom.

The occasional shuffling of paper and clicking of a keyboard reaches Hachikuji's ears. With the removal of its most unstable element, the atmosphere in the staffroom is sombre, almost stifling. Just the way a staffroom should be.

Hikigaya Hachikuji takes a moment to reflect on her actions. Perhaps she should have written a normal essay, half-assing a random piece instead of pouring her heart and soul into her homework, of all things. Maybe she shouldn't have provoked her highly esteemed teacher to the point of such righteous anger with her errant tongue. She was wrong. She has sinned against Heaven and before Sensei, and is no longer worthy to be called a student.

Apologies typically don't work on the being that is Hiratsuka Shizuka, but it never hurts to have one prepared just in case.

Still wincing in pain, Hachikuji picks herself up follows suit.

Part 2

The boy had been reading a book. He was by no means a slow reader, but he had been perusing the same book for the past few days, allowing the words to seep into his mind again and again. So much that he knew what was about to happen with the turn of every page.

Around him, the classroom is empty, the tables and chairs stacked neatly at the back. All is quiet. He has fully immersed himself in the book and is just about to review an important plot point when Hiratsuka-sensei bursts in through the door with a miserable looking girl behind her.

"Sensei, at least tell me where we're going! Ah."

Hachikuji's protests stop as if a switch has been flipped. The boy blinks.

Yukinoshita Yukio, from International Education class, 2J. That hellish class with scores consistently way above the national deviations, he is known as a man with grades never falling below first place, and with looks to match. Not that Hachikuji cares about such a thing.

Handsome Yukinoshita raises a head of raven-black hair and glares at them with annoyed blue eyes. Okay, maybe Hachikuji does care a little. She could almost imagine herself confessing to him and getting rejected immediately.

"Sensei, I believe I have told you several times not to burst into the clubroom without knocking."

Hiratsuka-sensei, without a single indication of guilt on her face, points at Hachikuji and commands: "Fix her."

 _He's not taking you seriously, you demon!_

Yukinoshita turns to look at Hachikuji, a look akin to condescension registering on his face. Being an experienced loner, Hachikuji is not used to such an intense stare and feels herself stiffen considerably. She knows better than to get involved with the target of affection of almost every single girl on campus, and can't help but imagine all the ways this could possibly go wrong.

 _He's not taking me seriously either._

"Sensei, I can already feel his lecherous gaze on my person. He must already be considering the multiple ways to violate me in a haze of passion." And with this appeal for sympathy, Hachikuji very nearly escapes the room, but Hiratsuka-sensei stops her with a viciously heavy stomp on her foot.

A look of mild surprise followed by annoyance, then a cold laugh. "Me? Violate you? That may well be the case, if you had sufficient amounts of sexual appeal. However, it seems more likely that I will have to be the one rejecting your advances." _Ouch!_ A fine demonstration of why Yukinoshita Yukio is not at the top of the social hierarchy along with all the riajuus, despite his reputation. Lacking a clear explanation, the student body has largely attributed this phenomenon to a lack of effort on his part; trivial things like social status must be below Yukinoshita Yukio, since he evidently sees no need to take part in them. Hachikuji, who knows better, owes it to a lack of capability.

"Don't worry, Yukinoshita. Hachikuji's self-control is more than enough to prevent that from happening." Hachikuji would point out that she has no reason to confess to someone she has just met, if not for the fact that she can almost see Yukinoshita's already negative impression of her sinking deeper and deeper. Not that she cares, of course.

"So, who is this girl and what am I supposed to fix? Her rotten eyes seem incurable." Yukinoshita remarks. _Consider my delicate feminine sensibilities, will you?_ Despite her obviously annoyed expression, Hachikuji is nudged forward.

"Hikigaya Hachikuji. Nice to meet you," Hachikuji continues, " I don't need fixing and I wish to leave as soon as possible." Or so she would say, if Hiratsuka-sensei wasn't standing right behind her.

"As punishment for writing that contemptuous crap, you are to join this club, and he will fix your attitude. Any attempt to object _will_ be seen as hostile."

"Sensei, I have sinned against-"

"Stow it. You know that kind of crap doesn't work on me."

"But isn't this oppress-"

"Sit." Hiratsuka-sensei takes a chair with the deftness of one accustomed to physical activity, strides to the opposite side of the clubroom and slams it down, motioning for Hachikuji to take a seat. Begrudgingly, Hachikuji complies.

Damn, barely seventeen and already feeling like a corporate slave.

With the air of a haughty individual at the top of the chain of command (she isn't and never will be, Hachikuji thinks spitefully), Hiratsuka-sensei leaves the room.

With only Hachikuji and Yukinoshita in the room, the room falls into dead silence once again.

Part 3

Yukinoshita reads a book. He sits cross legged in his chair, next to the windowsill with a can of coffee on top and his schoolbag on the floor. He holds the page with both his fingers, and turns it slowly every half a minute. Hachikuji doesn't bother to notice such things. After all, why does she need to care about the daily activities of others? With nothing to hold in her own fingers, she twirls her hair, occasionally betraying her own convictions and sneaking momentary glances at Yukinoshita.

Look, anyone would get bored of the floor after a while.

"Are you just going to stare at me like that for the next two hours?" Yukinoshita scowls at Hachikuji, who immediately averts her gaze. Blushing slightly, she pouts and grumbles: "What _am_ I supposed to do for the next two hours? Hell, what club is this, even?"

"Take a guess."

"The Literature Club? There aren't any tools that would be used for clubs like chess or drama, you seem to be reading a book and there aren't many club members-" Hachikuji stops at this point upon receiving yet another annoyed glare, courtesy of Yukinoshita.

"It's the service club."

Hachikuji blinked. "...The _what_?"

"The service club."

 _A club like that exists? What kind of trash club is made for the sole purpose of helping other people? And in fact, -_ "Why did sensei drag me here?" Hachikuji vocalizes this last passing thought, half-expecting a well thought out response of complete silence.

"It appears.. you need help. From what I've seen, your problem is pretty serious too."

 _Oh, as a client. I see, I see. So how do I terminate the contract?_

"Pffft. I am a healthy and wholesome high school student who sees no problem with her life, thank you very much." It's true; Hachikuji has no friends or social life to speak of, but it doesn't bother her in the least, not at all, nope. She _chose_ to be a lone wolf.

"Is that so? When was the last time you spoke to a guy?" Yukinoshita does not sound convinced.

"In the… last year of middle school." Hachikuji vaguely remembers the boy who confessed to her, just because they sat next to each other for half a year. _What a pathetic basis for confession; I'm probably one of his many conquests_ , she thought at the time. Hachikuji doesn't want to remember, but she can clearly recall his explosive stammering (in front of everyone, right before homeroom) and the earnestness in his eyes. The words "Can we just be friends?" she managed to force out after an extended period of awkward silence, and how the heartbroken boy had asked for a seat change the next day. Then came the pity for poor Yoshida-kun, then the spiteful remarks, then the social outcasting. That was not the first time an incident of this kind occurred, of course.

But that is all in the past. Yukinoshita doesn't need to know.

"Those with the ability to give should utilise it to help others. People call this community service, and that is exactly what I am doing for you. I have received a request, and I shall fulfill it. Welcome to the service club."

"As I said, that isn't a problem. And besides, the rest of my life is pretty sorted out. I've got good grades in general, and eyes aside, I have a pretty good face. Since when did someone need friends to be considered fixed?" Hachikuji retorts, turning away from Yukinoshita, who has walked over from the window and is now standing next to her.

"Really? I've never met a girl who had the confidence to call herself pretty while having not a single point of reference to speak of. " Yukinoshita's words cut deep into Hachikuji, and she flinches, the faux confidence in her face ebbing away.

Grabbing onto any semi-legitimate retort she can come up with, Hachikuji crudely responds, "And a guy with the best grades in school and the looks to back up his reputation has the balls to criticise a nobody for lacking presence or popularity. Like he understands." Yukinoshita sighs and walks back to his seat.

"Well, that concludes practice." _HUH?_ "If you're able to hold a conversation with me, someone you apparently consider a 'looker' like myself, shouldn't that be enough to talk to most guys already?" Yukinoshita smiles, turning Hachikuji's statement against her. Upon realising that she has been played, Hachikuji flushes. _Well done,_ she thinks with just a pinch of sarcasm. _You've concluded that I don't have a confidence issue._

"As if I called you a looker! That's the general opinion of the tasteless masses, not my own! " She doesn't even realize it, but she is shouting now. Glaring furiously at Yukinoshita, she is about to unleash another barrage of spontaneous (and petty) insults when the door slams open with a bang.

"O.K., timeout! I can't say for sure, but it looks like you're in a spot of trouble, aren't you, Yukinoshita?" Hiratsuka-sensei re-enters the classroom, clasping her hands together.

Yukinoshita, rather flared up from their conversation, deflates before replying "Knock." The almost paradoxical soft yet piercing tone of the one word that emerges from Yukinoshita's mouth sends chills down Hachikuji's spine. Not the good kind.

Not unnerved in the slightest, Hiratsuka-sensei ignores the cold stare of Yukinoshita with an wide, unflinching, almost infectious smile that definitely doesn't befit a woman of her age. Not that Hachikuji is going to say that out loud, in fear of the likely pain that would ensue.

"Since you two have a conflict in ideals, why don't you two have a match? Like in ancient Japanese rivalry."

"Is that something from your shounen manga?" Hachikuji almost asks. But Hiratsuka-sensei is already clenching her fist, almost as if she has predicted Hachikuji's untimely witticisms and is already preparing to sock her one.

Yukinoshita seems disinterested. "A match? As in, a battle of wits to determine the superior individual? What a waste of time; it is obvious who will win anyway." Turning away, he reaches for his book once again.

"Oh really? It seems to me that you're just scared of losing." Hiratsuka-sensei juts her chin out, trying to appear blatantly provoking. Hachikuji is amazed at Hiratsuka-sensei's level of maturity, but even more so when Yukinoshita takes the bait.

"Provoking a boy into mercilessly crushing a girl is simply distasteful, Sensei. However, I suppose I am inclined to accept this request." _No, you're not!_ Hachikuji screams internally. _Am I the most grown up person here? Me, who's labelled as the one who needs fixing!?_

Hiratsuka-sensei smiles. "Since this is the service club, we will have a match to see who is better at serving the student body... " Listening to her rambling, Yukinoshita gives off the cool, contemptuous aura of a cat, no doubt eager to prove himself as the superior individual.

 _I don't have any say in this, do I? The situation has unfolded in the worst way possible._ Hachikuji groans inwardly. This cannot possibly end well.

Part 4

Hachikuji finds herself walking into the clubroom the next day, despite having no rational reason to do so (fear of Hiratsuka-sensei's fists, probably). Yukinoshita is already inside, reading the same book as the previous day. Hachikuji sits down, opting to distance her seat from his and taking careful attention not to stare or disrupt the peace which he clearly relishes.

"Good afternoon." Jolted by the sudden greeting, Hachikuji sits up, glancing apprehensively at Yukinoshita.

"H-Hello."

"Considering how our argument yesterday clearly ended in my favour, and how you lacked any say in Hiratsuka-sensei's proposal of a competition, I presumed you would not come today."

Hachikuji sighs. Maybe she could use a few lines from her senseless female classmates at the top of the student hierarchy. She wonders how they are able to handle arguments with boys on a regular basis. _It's fine,_ she tells herself. _You don't have to answer him. Just demonstrate your maturity. Be the bigger person._

"What kind of arrogant attitude is that? Like, seriously, do you have any friends at all?"

Feeling that she has won this exchange, she turns away triumphantly. Yep, definitely the bigger person.

Yukinoshita peevishly replies after a pause. "Well, for me to answer that question, you would first have to define 'friends'-"

"That's a 'no', then. I'm the source on that." Hachikuji, a proud loner herself, would often say those lines when asked if she had friends by her parents. The cafeteria lady who took her lunch order, the class monitor who had to collect her homework, the neighbors she talked to in the mornings before school. That was how she usually justified her blatant lie of "Yes, I talk to a lot of people in school" to her rightfully concerned parents.

Yukinoshita, obviously irked by Hachikuji's curt response, is about to open his mouth to reply, but abruptly stops himself. Sighing, he turns away and looks wistfully out of the clubroom window. "It's not like you'd understand, anyway."

Hachikuji recoils from the bluntness of his words. _Was that a pang of guilt?_

"Children are such innocent, yet cruel creatures. In elementary school, my shoes were thrown into the lake over 10 times, my schoolbag found in a place I didn't put it 60 times, my notes torn up and all over the floor too many times to count." Yukinoshita continues. "Strangely enough, the greater the man, the more he suffers in life."

Growing irritated by the blank stare on Hachikuji's face, Yukinoshita scowls. "Don't you get it, Hachikuji-san? I was bullied, for no good reason at all. Nobody liked me simply because I made them feel inferior, and it seems nothing I do will ever change that."

This jolts Hachikuji out of her trance, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Her eyes drop to the ground, leaving the room in overwhelmingly awkward silence.

 _...wow, edgy._

Almost immediately, the silence is interrupted by the sound of the clubroom door sliding open.

"Sorry to intrude, is anyone here?" A short boy with bright orange hair peeks into the clubroom. His eyes sweep the room, before landing on Hachikuji. Feeling relieved, a bright smile lights up his face. "Oh! It's Hikigaya-san!"

His orange hair is unmistakable; it's one of the sheep who constantly flock to class 2E riajuu Hayama Hayato, going with the flow like dead salmon. Who exactly he is, Hachikuji has neither the reason nor the desire to find out.

"This is, like, the service club, right? I came here with a request." The certainty of his smile wavers, but the boy still makes a significant effort to make it as bright as possible. As if for permission to continue, he turns to look at Hachikuji, who turns away immediately with a scowl.

"You came here with a request? Please, go ahead and state it. I will do my best to resolve whatever issues you may be facing _._ " In an instant, Yukinoshita transitions from troubled youth to approachable counsellor. His words abruptly remind Hachikuji of the fact that she is in the middle of a match with him. _Damn you, Yukinoshita!_

"So? What's your request?" Hachikuji grumpily turns to the boy, who looks down, scratching his face and blushing in surprise.

"W-well, you know, it's just.. there's this girl that I kinda have, like, a crush on? Something like that." Hachikuji already regrets taking this seriously. This boy's speech style is putting her patience under immense strain.

"And y'know, Valentine's Day is in two days, so, like, I wanna find out if this girl is, you know, giving chocolates to anyone." The boy blushes and twirls his fingers.

Hachikuji sighs and looks at Yukinoshita's direction, fully expecting an expression of disgust or contempt on his face. _We're supposed to solve the major problems of the student body, aren't we? There's no way we would accept a request like that, right? Right?_

Yukinoshita replies. Unflinchingly. "I accept."

 _Are you really that eager to win?_

"Who is the girl you want us to investigate?"

The boy smiles awkwardly, scratching his hair. "Yumiko Miura-san."

Hachikuji isn't unfamiliar with that name. The overbearing matriarch at the top of the campus hierarchy along with _the_ Hayama Hayato, Miura Yumiko is fairly famous in their school, commonly known as "the Fire Queen" and "Hayama's Bitch". The fear she instilled in the hearts of every female student is the sole reason accounting for Hayama's lack of a romantic relationship. For a fact, not a single student in the neighbourhood has not heard of her fearsome temper.

Oh, and she's also Hachikuji's classmate _. This'll be a problem_.

Awkward silence. Then, "...by the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's Yuigahama Yuichi. I look forward to working with you! Ehehe..."

 _Weren't the last two lines completely unnecessary?_ Hachikuji wonders how long it will take for her patience to give out.

Part 5

The next day after school, anybody passing by the Service Club's clubroom can find two mannequins on opposite sides of the room. Hachikuji and Yukinoshita sit, unmoving, with not a word between them.

This occurs for most of the afternoon.

Finally, Yukinoshita takes a sip from his can of coffee and sighs. "So what are we going to do about-"

"A fanboy wanting to find out if he stands a chance with his crush?"

" _-this issue, was what I was going to say._ No, more importantly, how exactly are we going to go about breaking the news to him without hurting his feelings? In the high likelihood that he is not the target of her affections."

"Ah, so I don't have to explain it to you." Seemingly, even the socially incompetent Yukinoshita is well aware that Yumiko Miura obviously plans to give chocolates to Hayama. The both of them are riajuus and a couple by proxy; it amazes Hachikuji how a member of their clique could fail to understand this simple fact.

Hachikuji continues with a sigh, "Well, I'm pretty sure that we don't need to do anything. A girl like her would announce the target of her affections to the world to mark Hayama as her territory, if nothing else."

Surprised by the accuracy of this comment, Yukinoshita replies, "That is quite true. But I do not believe we can rely on a phenomenon like that in case it does not happen. A more reliable solution would be checking the chocolate before she gives it, or spying on her when she does." _This guy is scary! Does he have any respect for a woman's privacy?_

While the two are deep in thought, Yuigahama opens the door and walks in, once again with an infectious smile across his cheeks. "Hey guys! Um... I made a bunch of these yesterday as practice for White Day... just take it as my thanks for helping me out!" He hands a small box to Hachikuji, who stares at it with no small amount of skepticism. It appears to hold a few brown lumpy objects... chocolate?

"Shouldn't you be giving this to Hayama's bitc- Yumiko-san?"

Yuigahama looks down and blushes. "Well, it's customary on Valentine's for girls to give chocolates to the guys they like, right? Giving it right now would just be, like, super weird and besides, wouldn't that basically be a confession? There's no way I could do that! Ehehe..."

Ignoring the irritating and clearly fabricated speech pattern, Hachikuji accepts the explanation. Despite the fact that the chocolates were given half-heartedly, she feels her traitorous heart skip a beat. _I received chocolates!_ The black lumps in the box (wait. Weren't they brown just a second ago?) don't exactly seem fit for human consumption, but they _are_ chocolates, after all.

"Th-Thanks."

"You'll accept it? Really?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure any girl would be happy to receive gifts from a guy as long as they're sincere, so..."

Yuigahama, who opened his mouth to say more, closes it again, before muttering, "I see." he looks down at the ground and smiles slightly, and Hachikuji feels her heart flutter for a moment. _Maybe he isn't so annoying after all._

Yukinoshita abruptly stands up, interrupting Hachikuji's train of thought. "Now that we are all present, let us discuss our plan."

 _Wait, we were waiting for him all along? And learn to read the mood, dammit!_

Yuigahama's brow furrows, though the smile remains glued to his face. "We have a plan?"

Yukinoshita's eyes narrow. "That is exactly what we will be discussing."

For the next two hours, the trio then enter a state of disarray, with Hachikuji and Yukinoshita arguing over possible solutions, with Yuigahama attempting (futilely) to calm both of them down.

Part 6

"Onee-chan, what are you doing? It's nearly 1 in the morning."

Hachikuji turns around to see her (adorable) younger sister Komachi rubbing her eyes sleepily while yawning.

"I'll be done soon, so you can go to sleep first. Don't worry about me."

Komachi smiles and gives a nod before dragging her feet to the bedroom. Waiting until she hears the door shut, Hachikuji stares at the mess in front of her and lets out a sigh. The next one will have to do.

...

The next morning, Hachikuji stares idly at the group surrounding Hayama and Yumiko from her seat. They seem especially excited and nervous, most likely due to the fact that today is Valentine's Day. _What a meaningless festival; all it does in pile up pressure and social tension,_ Hachikuji thinks. She, too, once was fell victim to this expectation - the pressure to give chocolates to _someone_ just to fulfil the hopes of desperate boys in middle school. Naturally, she ended up being even more ostracized when she failed to meet this expectation. Not that she's bitter about it, of course. She's moved past that.

As for what had happened the day before, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama had agreed on a plan, but Hachikuji could already see the outcome. _Ah crap, I shouldn't have come to school today._ Hachikuji yawns; last night was really tiring. It only takes one look at the dark circles under her eyes as well as her lifeless demeanor (more so than usual) for everyone to ascertain that she will probably be spending her lesson time catching up on lost sleep until recess, when the plan will be put into action.

Sure enough, Yukinoshita walks into the classroom a few minutes after recess begins, choosing a time when Hayama is not in the class. Hachikuji buries her head in her arms; she can't bear to watch. The classroom falls silent as Yukinoshita strides confidently up to Yumiko.

"Sorry to intrude, my name is Yukinoshita Yukio, I'm sure you've already heard of me. May I ask who you're giving your chocolates to?"

Behold, the fruit of hours of laborious discussion.

 _Way to fuel the rumours; as if there aren't enough of those already,_ Hachikuji sighs in exasperation, yet is unable to peel her eyes away from the scene. Both boys, desperate to go home, had proposed for a third party (Yukinoshita) to ask Yumiko about her chocolates directly, and had completely disregarded Hachikuji's opinion that it was sure to fail.

Miura Yumiko stares at the strange boy that has barged into her classroom during recess to ask her a personal question in front of all her classmates. Naturally, she has an expression that perfectly matches the absurdity of the situation.

"You... like me or something?"

 _Hey, this is bad._

"No. I am asking on behalf of a friend."

"Isn't that, like, what all the guys say? Sorry but I have, like, just about _zero interest_ in a person like you."

 _This is really bad._

Yukinoshita is already biting his lip, as his smile becomes increasingly forced. "As you may know, I am from the service club, and I require this information to help one of my-"

" _Huh?_ The Service Club? What kind of stupid club is that?"

Hachikuji begins to slip on the shoes she kicked off in the middle of Hiratsuka-sensei's lesson.

"I am sorry that the president of this lowly club requires the audience of someone of your social status, your highness, but for no personal reason at all, I require this information." This is it. It's going down. Yukinoshita breathes heavily as he stares at the seated Fire Queen, with a gaze as sharp as broken glass. Watchijg from the corner, Yuigahama looks particularly worried. Hachikuji mentally braces herself.

Yumiko stares back at Yukinoshita with a reddened face, body language basically screaming out telltale signs of her infamous temper. "What gives you the right to-"

Hachikuji pushes herself into the middle of the two of them, breaking off the brewing argument.

"Yukinoshita, let me handle this."

"But-" Yukinoshita opens his mouth to speak, only to realise that the stares of the entire class are resting on him. Dropping his head, he quietly exits the classroom, with no small amount of shame. Hachikuji then turns to face Yumiko, who glares back.

"What do you want now?"

It's time to start negotiations, Hachikuji thinks grimly. No doubt, if she were a boy, she would think of something stupid like '108 skills' and call upon one specially reserved for this occasion. Unfortunately, she has lived a life deprived of hopes and dreams and shounen manga, so this will have to do.

An audible collective gasp can be heard as Hachikuji prostates herself fully in front of Yumiko.

 _How ironic_ , Hachikuji thinks. Even though she has explicitly chosen not to associate with others and assimilate into the social hierarchy, here she is literally kneeling before to a riajuu. What is she even doing this for? The service club that she was forced to join? Cold, bratty Yukinoshita? Annoying fanboy Yuigahama? Before she has had the chance to fully contemplate this, her forehead has already touched the ground.

No turning back now.

"Yumiko-san, I'm begging you. We can't tell you why, but we really need this answer. For the service club. I assure you, this information isn't going to be used for our own personal gain, but for the purpose of helping our clients, so please, could you answer the question? You can answer in private, if you prefer.'

Amidst the atmosphere of abject mortification, Hachikuji feels a sliver of relief that her eyes are facing the ground, making it impossible to see the expression of utter condescension that is no doubt plastered all over Yumiko's face. Nor can she see the shock on all her other classmates' faces, especially Yuigahama's.

"Ew, that's like, totally gross, Hachikuji-san. What's up with you today? I'm not obligated to answer such a personal question, you know? Hello? Are you even listening to me?"

"Please, stop avoiding the question. I'm begging you." Hachikuji puts in her best efforts into injecting (false) earnestness into her voice.

"Just, no, okay? I'm not telling you! It's my business who I decide to give chocolates to and I'm not letting any of you stick your noses into it!" With that, Yumiko steps over Hachikuji-san and strides out of the classroom, with her chin high and chest puffed out, leaving the classroom in complete silence (usually a very difficult feat to achieve, even during lessons). While acts like refusing the request of a prostrating individual tend to sour one's reputation, Hachikuji is certain the rumours from this incident will be biased against herself instead of Yumiko. Such is the difference in social status between both of them, she laments, trying her best not to meet her classmates' gazes.

She meets Yuigahama's by pure chance. He looks ill.

Soon enough the classroom once again bustles with idle chatter. No doubt, the outrageous scene that has just unfolded will be written off, like just another failed confession. This thought does not make her feel better in the slightest. Amidst the chaos of everyday classroom life, she slowly picks herself up and drags herself back to her seat. _Well, that didn't work out. Time to go back to sleep, I guess._

Right when she is about to doze off again, something catches her eye. Yuigahama is… approaching Yumiko?

 _What an idiot. This can't go well._

Suddenly wide awake, Hachikuji nearly stands up from her seat to prevent an imminent disaster, but stops herself. She has already fulfilled her quota of embarrassing acts for the day; what Yuigahama chooses to do isn't something she should concern herself with. And with that thought, Hachikuji decides to lie on her desk and, from her peripheral vision, watch the chaos ensue.

(She doesn't.)

Part 7

Why Hachikuji still reports to the clubroom in the afternoon is a mystery, especially to herself. Yukinoshita is already inside reading the same book, although he does not seem to have made any progress. _Wait, how did I know which page he stopped at? Snap out of it already!_

Both of them sit in the usual thick silence. Surprisingly, Yukinoshita is the first to break it.

"You really embarrassed yourself back there, didn't you."

"Don't talk like you were much better, smartass," Hachikuji grumbles, and another awkward silence ensues. She should really start bringing a book to pass the time in here.

"Why did you do it? The plan had failed and you weren't a part of it."

Hachikuji tries to bury her head in a table in front of her, only to find empty space. Right. All of those are at the back. "I just figured... taking up this request was the most constructive thing I've done for quite a while, so I might as well put some effort into it, y'know?"

Yukinoshita smirks, most likely to give a scathing remark about what a difference her "effort" made, but her incoming humiliation is spared when the door slides open.

It's Yuigahama. Hachikuji is surprised that he still wants anything to do with the club, seeing how they embarrassed themselves on his behalf. His smile is as bright as ever, but somehow it feels less forced. He gives a nervous laugh. "I got rejected."

The other two occupants of the room look up in surprise. "You actually managed to get her to talk to you?"

Yuigahama looks down at his feet. "Well, I did try my best to take Hikigaya-san's advice about being sincere..." Then his face hardens. Is that... determination? "After everything you guys have done for me, I figured the least I could do was to solve my own problems."

Hachikuji revises her opinion of Yuigahama immediately. She hadn't thought that he was actually capable of doing something so bold.

"I see. In that case, we're done for the day. I'll see you tomorrow, Hikigaya-san." Yukinoshita, satisfied, picks up his bag and leaves the room.

Typical Yukinoshita thinking: Mission accomplished, request fulfilled? Time to leave.

There's the fact that Yuigahama has just been rejected and is in a state of emotional vulnerability. But rather than choosing to ignore this, Hachikuji suspects, Yukinoshita has not even considered it.

Also typical Yukinoshita thinking: Anything outside a request is not his problem.

 _Man, for a guy running a pseudo charity organisation, you sure are frigid._

The slamming of the door emphasizes the silence between Hachikuji and Yuigahama, who are now alone in the room.

"It didn't work out, but thanks for your advice, Hikigaya-san. It, like, really gave me the courage to ask her about the chocolates." Yuigahama laughs nervously again, scratching the back of his head. He notices that Hachikuji is fishing for something in her bag.

"Here, take this." Hachikuji carelessly tosses something at Yuigahama, who grabs hold of it after much fumbling, nearly dropping it on the ground. He stares at the bag in his hands. Chocolates…?

In the highly likely case that the plan didn't work, Hachikuji had decided for these chocolates to be a sort of emotional buffer for Yuigahama to get over the pain of rejection. However, the burnt mess of unrecognisable blocks in the plastic bag can hardly be called chocolates.

"This is payback for the chocolates you gave me the other day. And I thought you might need some chocolates after what happened today. I'm sorry for how it turned out, since I'm not that good at cooking and all..." Hachikuji looks up from her bag to stare at Yuigahama, who is already opening the bag.

"Hey, you shouldn't eat-"

"It's good!"

"Huh?" Hachikuji stares at Yuigahama, who (to his credit) is trying his absolute best to maintain his smile as he bites down into the "chocolates" which most probably provide more nutritional value for plants.

"It's really good! Really, thank you for the chocolates...I...huh?" Yuigahama pauses mid speech as he notices the tears trickling down his face. Not really knowing how to react, Hachikuji hastily looks away as Yuigahama begins to sob (manly enough, all things considered) at the front of the classroom.

Should she put a hand on his shoulder? Hachikuji doesn't know, and for the first time in her high school life, she finds herself distressed by this fact.

"I knew it all along, y'know?" Yuigahama hiccups. "Only an idiot wouldn't notice that she only had eyes for Hayato-kun. But I was still... in denial or something, I dunno... and I roped you guys into this mess. I'm sorry about that." And just like that, he calms down. Kudos to him, thinks Hachikuji. Makes one wonder if he really liked her that much in the first pla- _wait! Stop that train of thought right now!_

"Well... yeah. You know... don't worry too much about it. Lots of fish in the sea, and all that."

"Of course. Thanks for everything." And the bright smile is back, albeit a bit more strained than usual. _How does he do that?_

Woefully, he stares out of the clubroom window, towards the setting sun. "You know, you guys are pretty amazing. All I've been able to do so far was maintain my status and wallow in my emotions because of it, but you guys... you guys were willing to throw all of yours away just to help someone you barely know. Like... that's cool. Really cool." Hachikuji feels like pointing out things like "social status" don't exactly apply to her and Yukinoshita, but thinks better of it and restrains herself.

"Um, I...I'll give you some space," Hachikuji stammers after a comfortably long silence. Picking up her bag, she leaves, leaving Yuigahama alone with his thoughts.

Part 8

The next day, Hachikuji walks into the clubroom, seeing the now-familiar face of Yukinoshita. She sits down and is fishing for a book in her bag when a cheerful Yuigahama enters the room.

...Is it just her, or has his smile gotten a lot less annoying?

"Hey everyone! What are we gonna do today?"

"...Hikigaya-san, why is he here?"

"...My guess is as good as yours."

Yuigahama laughs and beams. "Well like, the whole Valentine's Day incident made me realise that both of you are super good people. It was really fun to be able to, you know, work with you guys, especially Hikigaya-san, since you don't talk in class much..." He steals a glance at Hachikuji, who hastily looks away. _How is he acting so normally after yesterday?_

"Before you work with us could you fix your style of speech? It's, like, totally super annoying. Also, you're not an official member of the club." Hachikuji feels the urge to laugh at Yukinoshita's less than subtle jab, but holds it back.

"Man, you guys really are cool! You don't mince your words, and you're not afraid about voicing your own opinions!" Yuigahama laughs again, seemingly unfazed by Yukinoshita's comments. Yukinoshita, surprised, coughs and goes back to his book.

"Well, it's been a pretty rough ride, but my name is Yuigahama Yuichi, it's a pleasure to meet you and I hope we can work together!"

 _Once again, I don't have any say in this, do I?_ Thinks Hachikuji as she sighs and gestures for Yuigahama to take a chair from the back of the room.

 _Well, that might not be so bad._

END OF CHAPTER 1

Author's Note:

What will Yuichi, Yukio and Hachikuji face in the months to come? Look forward to our next chapter! Do drop a review and a favourite!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Part 1

Hachikuji is not having a fine day. She has just managed to shake off her old childhood friend (still indefinitely plagued with Chuunibyou) who tried to make her read one of his "literary works"; basically poorly written fanfiction based off of historical literature. Hachikuji can painfully remember a time in middle school where she would have gladly reviewed it and occasionally even wrote some pieces with him, but that's all in the past.

Walking into the clubroom, Hachikuji can only foresee her mood worsening in the near future.

"Hello, Ice King."

"Good afternoon, Dead Fish Eyes." Yukinoshita replies without looking up from his book. It seems to be a different volume this time. "You look as depressed as ever. Perhaps you should learn a thing or two from Yuigahama-san and brighten up a bit."

"Sharp as ever, your highness. Maybe you should put your words into practice and make a few frie-"

Just as their bickering starts, the basis of their insults bursts into the room.

"Yahallo, Hikigaya-san, Yukinon!"

" _Yahallo"? The heck is that? Can I eat it?_

"Y-Yukinon? Of all the crude forms of address... anyway, good afternoon." Yukinoshita forces a smile at the beaming Yuigahama. It has been a while since Yuigahama started attending the Service club regularly, but Yukinoshita has yet to get used to the blindingly bright aura Yuigahama introduces to the normally dreary room.

Yuigahama trots over to his seat and sits down, placing his bag on the new table Hiratsuka-sensei forced them to drag from the back of the class. According to her, the Service Club was granted a budget after Yuigahama joined, as it was able to fulfill the school's minimum requirement of 3 people to form a recognised club. In other words, Hachikuji was coerced into joining an illegitimate club, and is now unable to leave.

Best of all, now she's saddled with a stupid bet that she cannot afford to lose. A stupid bet over what? The right to insult the club president? The position of 'superior individual'? _All this over a childish act of self-gratification,_ Hachikuji realises in a moment of abrupt horror. _I'm playing right into the sophistry I pledged to avoid._

Hachikuji's train of thought is interrupted by the sudden exclamation from Yuigahama. Yukinoshita, similarly disturbed, abandons his book. Both of them stare at them orange haired boy, the mere prospect of something being too distressing for _Yuigahama_ chilling them to their bones. Is it a school shooting? Has the principal died?

Yuigahama turns to them with a look of mild puzzlement which quickly morphs into an awkward smile. "Ah, it's this." He holds his phone screen up and turns it around to allow both of them to see a chain message. Things like these appear all the time, especially involving individuals in the top caste, but few of them slander multiple individuals at the same time _._ Beyond the level of a mere rumour, Hachikuji can see that this particular chain mail was written with the intent to degrade the individuals in question and upset the hierarchy itself. _I could learn a thing or two from this._

"Why would you be this disturbed by a chain mail slandering Hayama-kun's close friends?" Yukinoshita asks, oddly interested. "I believe things like these appear frequently enough."

"Well yeah... but this is the third one today. The student who wrote this was trying to bring down Tobe-kun, Ooka-kun and Yamato-kun at the same time. He's probably trying to distance them from Hayato-kun..."

"I still don't see the problem," interjects a confused Yukinoshita, but Hachikuji instantly understands. Any social issue concerning the top riajuu of the school would be troublesome to deal with. Best of luck, Hayama! At least she won't have anything to do with-

"Hayato-kun's livelihood is at stake here! We're the service club, aren't we? We've gotta do something about this!" Right on cue, Yuigahama makes his grand proposal with fiery determination in his eyes. _Wait, does that mean you were distressed out of genuine concern for your friend? Wow, and here I was thinking we reached an understanding. Also, why do we have to get involved?_

"I refuse," she snips. "We are an official club formed to help with the major problems of our fellow students. Tracking chain mail is too trivial for our attention. Also, it's troublesome."

Yukinoshita narrows his eyes. "Somehow I feel like you only meant that last line. But I concur. We should not interfere with matters outside our requests." As if on cue, the clubroom door slides open to reveal the great Hayama Hayato in the flesh.

Hachikuji groans internally. If only things would just go her way for once, _maybe_ she wouldn't be such a pessimistic person. That's probably not happening, though.

Part 2

Hayama flashes his riajuu smile that has no doubt tamed raging storms and charmed countless hearts. It has a sheepish undertone; Hachikuji wonders how much favour he has curried with it.

"Yukio, what a pleasant surprise! Man, I had no idea you'd be in this club." _Oi, what's with that elitist attitude? You only greet the student with the same Grade Point Average, is that it?_

Upon meeting eyes with Hachikuji, Hayama gives a small, nervous laugh. "Ah... it's not like that. Our parents know each other, so..." _Taking elitism to the corporate level already, huh. As expected of the school's biggest Riajuu. Or maybe he's just trying to say they've known each other for a long time... nah. Elitist bastard._

"I suppose you're here about the chain mail Yuigahama-san was telling us about." Yukinoshita closes his eyes and crosses his legs.

Surprised, Hayama gives another small laugh. "So you already know about that? That saves a lot of trouble. You see, it's a really important matter if someone is spreading insults about my friends and I'd wish for it to stop as soon as possible..."

Hachikuji interrupts to highlight what she is more interested in . "But why is someone slandering your friends in the first place?"

"Huh?" The three guys in the room turn around to stare blankly at Hachikuji. _Did I miss something?_

"The upcoming workplace visit. You know, the one that requires us to form groups of three?"

 _Ah, I see._ Around this time of year, second years are required to fill in their career surveys and make their way in groups to the associated workplaces for an excursion. While Hachikuji just intended to hand in another essay demeaning the purpose of this activity and excuse herself from school under the pretense of visiting the workplace of a housewife, it seemed that her classmates on the upper echelons of campus saw this as an important event where forming groups is equivalent to choosing sides on the battlefield.

"Right. Just to clarify, your request is for us to smoke out the culprit and expose him in the most brutal way possible, is that right?" Yukinoshita asks, fire and brimstone set aflame in his piercing blue eyes. _Scary! What's up with boys getting so determined over such stupid things?_

Hayama looks at him, shock evident on his face. "Of course not! I simply want him to stop, is all..."

"I see." And now the flaming orbs are turned to Hayama. "Is that why you chose the service club, for the secrecy? You deduced that we were an insignificant organisation and hence capable of keeping this situation under wraps while solving your personal problems. You want your lackey to stop slandering the other members of your social circle, and yet you refuse to call him out, only desiring to maintain all your farcical relationships. That sounds just like you."

Yuigahama looks ready to intervene, as usual. Hachikuji simply sits back and enjoys the show, watching the emotions cycle across Hayama's face. Shock, mainly. Hachikuji doesn't understand what there is to be so shocked about. She would have said the exact same thing, only that she isn't as pissed off by the 'insignificant organisation' bit as Yukinoshita currently is. _Man, if looks could kill..._

Hayama eventually settles for sadness and puts on a melancholic face that Hachikuji is sure has convinced multiple girls of his non-existent troubled past. He couples it with yet another nervous laugh. "Yeah... suppose it was pretty unreasonable to ask for that. Do it however you want, I guess. But at the very least, make the messages stop. Please? Not just for me, but for my friends too."

Hachikuji absolutely hates people like Hayama, people who fake their desires and emotions just because others expect them to. But here he puts on a face of genuine earnestness that suddenly makes Hachikuji -strong, cool lone wolf Hachikuji who has spent the entirety of her high school life scoffing at those idiots at the top of the social hierarchy- feel inferior. _Inferior in what way?_ she wonders.

Part 3

For the next few days, Hachikuji couldn't help but observe Hayama and Yuigahama, who are now working together to observe the friends around them. Yumiko, obviously bothered by Yuigahama's presence, has made her existence in the clubroom scarce and often disappeared with her friends during recess rather than doing her usual territory-marking rituals. This also gives Hachikuji some peace of mind as she watches the two, who exchange serious glances every few minutes or so, drawing curious looks from the rest of Hayama's clique.

Of course, nobody dares to ask Hayama about it. A group in which all the relationships are centred around one person cannot be truly called a group, Hachikuji decides. It's more like a pack of lions, with women and children existing to serve the alpha male, the only benefit of doing so being the right to see his glorious mane up close.

As the "undercover" investigation proceeds, Hachikuji feels herself nodding off. In her peripheral vision, she sees Yuigahama and Hayama walk out of the room, leaving the three of Hayama's friends behind. Hachikuji sighs; she finally has time to take a nap. _Wait a second. I could have done this all along. Why was I so concerned about them in the first place?_

"Hey, don't you think Hayama's being, like, a bit close to Yuichi?"

The sudden question jolts Hachikuji awake, who nearly knees the desk in surprise.

"You get it, bro! Honestly I think so too."

"Man, it would totally suck if Hayama were to choose Yuichi for the visit, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would be a waste of a visit!"

The three boys fall back into petty small talk as Hachikuji feels a nagging voice at the back of her mind telling her something was amiss. She decides not to follow this train of thought, pushing it back into the subconscious where it belongs. She then returns to her (much-needed) slumber.

When Yuigahama walks into the clubroom later that day, he is obviously displeased. Yukinoshita, noting the obvious change in his demeanor, looks up at him.

"What happened to you?"

Yuigahama nearly jumps, almost as if he wasn't expecting the question. _Something is seriously wrong with him._ He flashes a nervous smile and replies, "Well, you see..." Yuigahama holds up his phone to reveal another email.

"It's still spreading? Well, that's to be expected of a chain mail." Yukinoshita picks up the book he has set on the table to continue reading.

"It's about me."

The silence in the clubroom is deafening. Yukinoshita pauses, hands frozen on the book cover.

Looks like Hachikuji's gut feeling wasn't misplaced. Men can be just as spiteful as women, when the occasion calls for it. Hachikuji feels an inappropriate sense of relief; the commitment to becoming a loner comes with many perks, the absence of a need to deal with such issues being one of them. "Well, it was bound to happen, with you and Hayama clinging to each other like that."

Yuigahama blushes. "We weren't clinging to each other! Besides, I have no intention of being in the same group as Hayato-kun."

Almost on cue, Hayama walks into the clubroom, wearing his usual infectious smile. It seems he hasn't received the chainmail yet.

"Tell that to Hayama's friends, not to me." Annoyed, Hachikuji continues the conversation with Yuigahama. _Wait, why am I annoyed? Because Yuigahama got hurt?_ Hachikuji shakes off these traitorous thoughts and focuses on the question at hand, looking back up at the boy.

"My friends?" Hayama cuts in, unaware of the unfolding situation. "They're still in the classroom, if you want to talk to them."

"Then maybe I will." Agitated by Hachikuji's provocative reply, Yuigahama turns around and makes his way for the door. After burying her head in her hands to sigh, Hachikuji gets up and rushes past Hayama. Yukinoshita stands up, flames burning in his icy eyes yet again.

"Wha-"

Things are getting out of hand.

Part 4

By the time Hachikuji gets to the classroom, she can already hear the argument inside. Stopping outside the classroom, she decides to eavesdrop. Being a loner, she isn't bound to the meaningless restrictions of morality, after all.

"What do you mean, stop? Are you framing us of sending that chainmail of you? That's, like, super unjustified!"

"I'm not framing all of you, I'm just saying that whoever's doing it..." Yuigahama's exasperated voice is close to breaking.

"So you are accusing us! Just 'cos you think you're closer to Hayama than us now, you start trying to pull us into this mess? You telling us to back off or somethin'?"

Hachikuji winces as she hears a table topple, and a startled cry from Yuigahama. This isn't good. She will have to step in soon.

"Are you trying to mess with our group?"

"I'm not! You've got it all wrong-" Another crash. _Resorting to violence because there's nobody else in the classroom,_ Hachikuji thinks. _Real mature._

 _Are guys really that useless? What is Yuigahama doing?_ At the rate this is going, Yuigahama will end up being saved by a girl (only assuming her efforts go well), which will only spark more rumours in the months to come. Hachikuji leans back against the clubroom door, contemplating her possible courses of action. Another crash comes from the classroom, sending vibrations through the door and through Hachikuji's body by proxy. Sighing, she gets up and steps into the classroom.

As expected, the room is in complete disarray. Yuigahama is on the ground wincing, with a mess of toppled chairs and tables around him. Hayama's three friends, who stand surrounding Yuigahama, all turn to Hachikuji. Hachikuji could almost feel their sharp gazes piercing through her, causing her to stumble back in shock.

"Yuigahama-san is not going to be in the same group as Hayama-"

"As if we'd believe that! Stay out of this, Hikitani-san!"

This isn't the first time people have accidentally addressed the invisible "Hikitani-san" in the room instead of herself when talking to her. Hachikuji would've asked who this mysterious "Hikitani-san" was, but she has far more important matters to address.

" _As I was saying_ , I know this for a fact because he will be in the same group as me."

…

" _HUH?_ "

 _You didn't have to join in, Yuigahama. You're hurting this fragile maiden's feelings._

"You heard me correctly. Yuigahama Yuichi will be in the same group as me, and will not be in a group with Hayama. Let's go, Yuigahama-san." Yuigahama, slightly disoriented, stumbles to get up. He pats himself down and starts limping towards Hachikuji.

"Let's go." Repeating herself, Hachikuji grabs Yuigahama's hand, forcefully yanking him out of the classroom, leaving Hayama's three stunned friends behind. _What a pain,_ Hachikuji thinks, annoyed that she had to break up a fight of all things. She is in no mood to speak to Yuigahama, who is now stumbling behind Hachikuji while attempting to make apologies. She barely notices as Yukinoshita brushes past her, and only stops when Hayama stands in the middle of the hallway, blocking her path.

"What happened?" Hayama asks, evidently shocked. Yuigahama winces and clutches at his ribs.

Hachikuji sees red, but only for a moment. She is definitely in full control of her emotions here. "Can't you see? Your dearest friends did this."

Hayama's expression darkens, and he makes a move to get past Hachikuji. "I'll go talk to them."

This time, it is Hachikuji who blocks the way.

"After I had to break up a fight this idiot got himself into, do you really want to make things worse? Are you so impulsive that you would walk _straight_ into a fucking _fire_?" Hachikuji barely keeps herself from shouting, even though it wouldn't make much of a difference at this point. So much for being in full control of her emotions.

Hayama steps back, hissing in frustration. "Then what am I supposed to do? Hikigaya-san, I appreciate all your efforts thus far, but I can't trouble you guys any more. I knew I should have done something before it got this serious..."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Huh? Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I was _about_ to, but a certain _someone_ tried to take matters into his own hands." She hisses. Why is she so pissed, anyway? It's a mystery even to herself.

Yuigahama lowers his head in shame.

…

Yukinoshita blandly surveys the scene in front of him. The three loudmouths who roughed Yuigahama up didn't even bother to clean up the mess they made, and are now trying (in vain) to justify their actions. To each other, no less, which makes the activity even less pointless.

"Dude. Didn't we, like, just behave like delinquents or somethin'? Hayato-kun's totally gonna hear about this, isn't he?"

"We didn't rough him up _that_ much, did we? We'll just say it was a misunderstanding, or something..."

"It's not our fault... not completely, I mean, Yuichi was totally to blame for messing things up in the first place-"

"No." The three of them start and gaze at the figure in the doorway, looking very much like children caught in the act of stealing from the cookie jar. _Pathetic_ , Yukinoshita thinks.

"Don't blame the result of your impulsiveness on the actions of someone else. No matter how you look at this situation, the blame is entirely yours. Driven to violence just because you allegedly lost Hayama-kun's favour? He is a pitiful man who has no need of your hero worship, and you are pathetic dogs undeserving of his approval."

"That's, like, totally untru... wait, aren't you Yumiko's stalker dude? From that stupid service club? What do you even know about us? You-"

"Silence. I despise people who fail to stand up to their misgivings. I despise people who blame others for their own mistakes even more. But most importantly..." his glower is uncannily similar to his father's signature glare, known for bringing opposing political representatives to their knees. "You harmed a member of the service club who was in the middle of fixing the mess you created, just because he assumed the moral high ground. You picked on him for being the better man."

Gazing at their ashen faces, he spits, "I despise people like you the most."

Yukinoshita walks out, leaving behind an air of dead silence.

 _My spiel might have been a tad too subjective,_ he contemplates. _Also, as an outsider, I had no logical need to berate them like that..._

 _Why did I do it?_ He wonders.

…

Hachikuji smirks upon seeing Yukinoshita walk out of the classroom. Considering the events that have conspired, it is probably time to call it a day.

"See," she says to Hayama. "You didn't need to do a thing."

Part 5

School ends, and everyone stays back to finalise their workplace visit groupings. The students mill around, taking turns to write their names on the blackboard.

Hayama is already planning where to go with Yumiko and her friend Ebina. He approved of Hachikuji's solution, agreeing that forcing his three desperate friends to form a separate group was a stroke of genius. Frankly, instead of making her blush and scream like any other girl in the school would, his praise rather annoyed Hachikuji. She would rather concern herself with the fact that she had failed to come up with such an obvious solution sooner, than any vague notion that Hayama enjoyed her presence - a status most other girls would kill to achieve.

Hachikuji, still seated at her desk, buries her head in her arms again. (Why does she do it so much these days?) Yuigahama has already written their names down. Suddenly, a loud rap sounds on Hachikuji's table, making her instinctively sit up straight and stare at the person standing in front of her.

It's Hiratsuka-sensei. "Is it fine if I put another person in you and Yuigahama's group? Yuigahama already agreed."

Well, it doesn't matter either way. Hachikuji will probably stay at home on the day itself anyway. She nods.

And from behind Hiratsuka-sensei, _the most adorable girl Hachikuji has ever seen_ steps out _._

And then, the girl begins to speak in _the cutest voice Hachikuji has ever heard._

"My name is Totsuka Saika. Nice to meet you! Sorry for troubling your group..." Blushing, the girl looks down at her shoes. She's dressed in boyish sports attire, for some reason. Totally ruins her feminine charm. In fact, if she _were_ a boy, Hachikuji would probably ask her out and get rejected immediately.

Maybe Hachikuji should go for a gender change.

"N-No! It's not a problem at all! In fact, I'm pretty relieved to have such a c-cute girl in my group! It would be really awkward if it was just me and Yuigahama, 'ya know..." Hachikuji, panicking, lets the Kansai dialect she never had slip out.

"...Hikigaya, Totsuka is a guy."

 _Oh gosh, sensei, what a tasteless joke!_

"Y-yeah, I'm a guy, though a lot of people mistake me for a girl..." Totsuka blushes even more and replies with the voice of an angel. A heavenly angel. An archangel, made to sing the praises of God day and night.

…

Wait, what?

Forget the gender change! Change back! Hachikuji realises that, for the first time in her life, her dead eyes aren't just full of fish oil; they are full of divine olive oil from the heavens.

 _Wait a sec. He's a guy, so it's ok to... no, wait. He looks like a girl, so it would be weird to... but wait. He's a guy!_ Upon diving past the point of no return into the sea of deep contemplation, Hachikuji fishes out a wonderful circular argument that throws all hormonal and ethical issues to the side. This is, undoubtedly, love in its purest form.

So it turns out things have indeed gone her way for once, a somewhat dazed Hachikuji thinks. She's still a pessimist, though.

…

The three of them stroll out the school compound, Yuigahama and Totsuka engaged in excited conversation. Watching their discourse, Hachikuji can't help but feel a pang of guilt. As the only member of the class who lacks enthusiasm for this trip, could she be holding them back? It's not like either of them had a choice to join her group...

And Yuigahama. Especially Yuigahama. Ulterior motives aside, she cannot comprehend why he puts in so much effort just to interact with her. She knows for a fact that literally any other girl is more suited for him than she is... right?

Breaking her train of thought, Hachikuji notices that Komachi is waiting for her at the front gate. After a hasty goodbye, Hachikuji runs over.

"Yo, onee-chan!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, you know, school ended early so I came to meet you here!" Komachi announces like the little ball of sunshine that she is, flashing a 100 point smile. If Hachikuji were a boy, no doubt she would be fighting to control her siscon instincts. Instead, she smiles back.

"By the way, I didn't think you'd actually get in touch with _him_. You really surprise me sometimes, onee-chan!" Another brilliant smile. This time Hachikuji disregards it completely.

"'Him'? Who are you talking about?"

Komachi's smile does not waver, but her voice begins to sound uncertain. "The owner of the dog! You know, the one you broke your leg saving?"

…

 _What?_

The pieces begin to fall together in Hachikuji's head.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

Part 1

"Kawasaki-san. How about getting a scholarship? That should take a load off your shoulders, financially speaking."

The white-haired girl lifts her head, eyes widening in sudden realization. "I... wow. How did I never think of that?" Her younger brother, Taishi-kun or something, grabs her hand. From the other end of the table, Komachi looks on approvingly, with a wide grin on her face (to nobody's surprise).

"That concludes our day's work, then." exhales Yukinoshita. "Hikigaya-san, it's your win this time. Now, if you'll excuse me..." After executing a perfect ninety-degree bow, he exits the fast food chain without ceremony. _This,_ thinks Hachikuji. _This is what a relationship between two club members should be like. Cordial and succinct. No more meaningless conversation than is necessary. And definitely none of..._

Yuigahama smiles his usual bright smile and tries to give her an approving glance. She looks away.

... _that._

Part 2

When desperate enough, even the most skeptical individual will grasp at a false ideal. This was the sole reason why Hachikuji entertained the idea of a fresh start in High School. Surely high school students were all mature individuals, far above the trivial concepts of 'confessions' and 'social status'. Perhaps, for the first time in years, Hachikuji would finally be accepted by her peers, flaws and all...

...as if that had any chance of happening. But just this once, Hachikuji let herself carry a sliver of hope.

Because she wanted to make a good first impression on the first day of school, she decided to leave the house two hours earlier. Because you never know what may happen along the way, she increased this buffer time to three hours. Then, because she overslept, it was promptly reduced to one hour.

 _And we're off to a great start,_ she thought while cycling to school. _So that's what buffer time is for._ She inwardly hoped that there would be nothing else to distract her from the road to acceptance.

And as fate would have it, there on the opposite side of the road was an orange haired boy, walking his dog. Although she recognized that a new start encompassed changing her rotten personality, and had pledged to refrain from being judgemental a mere fifteen minutes ago, the boy looked like an complete plebeian. The kind that would suck up to a riajuu just to creep up the social hierarchy... _wait, hang on! Positive thoughts, positive thoughts! Um... uh... what a responsible owner, to take his dog out for a walk so early in the morning! Ugh, this is hard._

"Ah! Sablè!" Almost as if in response to her train of thought, the dog dashed onto the road, right in front of an oncoming car. _Oi, what kind of owner are you? Give it back! Give me back my praise!_

But because Hachikuji was (just for that day) full of hopes and dreams and the prospect of new beginnings, she acted on reflex to save the poor animal that was about to become roadkill. In retrospect, that was an extremely stupid move and completely out of her character. Was it the goodness stemming from the thought of a fresh start that had filled her heart and destroyed her rationality, compelling her to save a domesticated beast at the expense of her own life? It's a mystery even to herself.

She didn't dive in to grab the dog and roll to the kerb, nothing heroic like that. She simply swerved her bike in between the dog and the car in the hopes that the driver would notice her presence just in time to jam the brakes.

She made one small miscalculation, though. Nobody has ever noticed her presence.

 _Perhaps my life will start flashing before my eyes right about now_ , Hachikuji thought milliseconds before the car hit. It didn't (as expected), but she got an eyeful of the car itself. A huge, black limousine, probably belonging to some rich societal big-shot. Strangely enough, its hood was adorned with the figurine of a flying angel. _Great, an escort to heaven. Just what I nee-_

She vaguely remembers the driver yelling at her (a chauffeur, meaning she was right about the rich big-shot) and the orange haired boy apologising repeatedly afterwards, but her left leg was in _so much pain_ and she passed out almost immediately after.

And that was how Hikigaya Hachikuji spent the first week of school nursing a broken leg in the hospital. In strict adherence to Murphy's law, fate had assigned her an obstacle that even her initially planned four hours of buffer time could not overcome.

When she finally showed up for class, she naturally failed to integrate with campus society. Which was just as well, because high school students weren't as mature as Hachikuji had imagined them to be, social hierarchies still existed, and the thought of fresh starts left a sour taste in her mouth.

Was this, perhaps, retribution for her for wishing upon a pipe dream?

The higher up you aim, the greater the height you eventually fall from. For Hachikuji, this inevitable crash came from the unforgiving wings of a metallic angel.

Part 3

"Hikigaya-san, you've been avoiding me."

Almost dropping her bento, Hachikuji chokes on what used to be a spring roll (with extra love from Komachi) and turns to face her assailant.

It's Yuigahama. Hachikuji would have preferred an assailant.

Instead of his usual bright smile, Yuigahama wears a look of concern. It wasn't frustration towards her blatant attempts at snubbing him or nervousness at the thought of irritating her; he actually looks genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. Hachikuji squashes the warm feeling that begins in her stomach and stuffs irritation into its place.

"I haven't. You're just being self conscious."

"Was it something I did?' A nervous laugh. "I'm not that smart, so I probably wasn't aware of it, but sorry for offending you."

He's not buying it, Hachikuji thinks. Probably because he knows that girls don't say what they mean most of the time... _keep it together, Hikigaya Hachikuji! Since when were you the type of person who would conform to gender stereotypes?_

She opts to say nothing, and the both of them share a long, tense silence. As a loner, Hachikuji has perfected the art of staring intensely at objects she has no interest in, like the floor or the wall. This technique is known for giving others the impression that you are deep in thought and therefore must not be disturbed.

Right now she narrows her dead fish eyes even further than usual and glares at Yuigahama, hoping he will get the hint and leave her to eat her lunch in peace. He does the exact opposite.

"Um, mind if I join you? I brought my own." _Wait, where did that bento come from? Such sleight of hand!_

On that note, if Yuigahama bothered to bring his lunch and search the entire school just to find her at her usual spot, he must really want to clear things up with her. Looks like Hachikuji can't weasel her way out of this one.

She, too, would love to clear things up with Yuigahama so that he can stop forcing himself to associating himself with her. The problem is, she doesn't know if there is anything to clear up in the first place.

They eat in silence, and Hachikuji braces herself for the inevitable moment when Yuigahama drops the pretense of eating with her and gets down to business.

Except that it never comes. Yuigahama finishes half of his lunch without saying a single word.

"O..Oi, Yuigahama." Said boy looks up in surprise. Hachikuji couldn't have imagined that she would be initiating the conversation like this, but the suspense is seriously killing her!

"Y... You came all the way here and all that... did you have something you want to talk about?"

"Huh? Oh, um, you mean the apology? I've given it already, though... I wasn't sure if it was enough, but I didn't know what it was that I did that made you so mad at me, and you didn't exactly want to tell me, so... yeah. Ehehehe..."

 _Don't 'Ehehehe' me! Not that you had anything to apologise for this time, but normally one apology wouldn't cut it!_

 _Wait... does that mean he already considered this incident resolved? He thought that he had already cleared things up with me?_ Out loud she says, "Why did you bother eating lunch with me, then? You apologised already, right?"

A look of surprise registers on his face. "Oh, um, I thought you wouldn't mind, and... well..." He looks down at his feet, and Hachikuji begins to see the hint of a blush on his face. "I kinda wanted to hang out with you, so...'

Hachikuji has saved her favourite sashimi for the last, but suddenly doesn't feel like eating it anymore. In the space in her stomach which the raw salmon would have filled, rage settles instead. _Why is he trying so hard?_

Yuigahama notices the change in her demeanour and looks up. "Sorry... I never really asked if you were okay with it but... did that bother you?"

 _Damn right it did,_ Hachikuji feels like screaming. _Are you trying to imply that you genuinely wanted to spend time with me? Don't screw around! Just because I saved your damn dog doesn't mean you need to go so far to... to..._

"It sounded better in my head" is a commonly used phrase used to justify errors in speech; Hachikuji is the source on that. In this case, Hachikuji doesn't even know how her rant was supposed to sound like in her head.

She stands up way too abruptly. "I'm going back to class." she chokes, and gets away before Yuigahama has time to react. She does, however, catch a glimpse of the confusion on his face, coupled with the slight blush that has yet to fade.

Part 4

They decide to visit the office building of a large tech corporation. Yuigahama suggested it because the digital technology industry was making a big impact in the market, Totsuka agreed because many groups had chosen this location as well, and Hachikuji went along with it because frankly she didn't care. No matter what workplace one chooses to visit, the entire activity is meaningless to begin with. Naturally, when trying to cultivate the interests of several excited high school students, companies would selectively display the most appealing portions of the workplace, resulting in more disillusioned teens for reality to crush mercilessly in a few years time.

Yukinoshita's group is there too, silently surveying the office facilities. A spectacled boy standing next to Yukinoshita listens to their guide like a drowning man clutching for a handhold, and frantically takes notes. _So this is class 2J,_ Hachikuji thinks. _The world of elites is truly different from ours._

The mood within her group is decidedly strained. Amongst the happily chatting students, Totsuka has decided to limit his interaction to the rest of his group, receiving the occasional smile and nod in return. While this would normally brighten up Hachikuji's mood considerably, she can't help but notice that Yuigahama is occasionally sneaking anxious glances at her. Jeez, _leave me alone, already._

The visit passes without event, promoting a few of the students to express their disappointment. _What were you expecting_? Hachikuji scoffs inwardly. _Offices are simply cells for corporate slaves._

The students eventually disperse and regroup into their cliques before drifting away. No doubt they will have forgotten about this trip once the day ends. Being the lone wolf that she is, Hachikuji stands by the street and waits for all the students to leave before she can make her move. Wouldn't want to entertain any meaningless social interactions, after all.

Lost in her muddled thoughts, she doesn't notice Yukinoshita standing beside her until he speaks up.

"Yuigahama came to me for advice regarding you. It seems you have been avoiding him and he cannot comprehend why." Hachikuji quickly progresses from shock to irritation, before a thought strikes her. Yukinoshita is just as an experienced loner as she is, and is just as proficient when it comes to avoiding unnecessary interaction. For him to approach her to talk about this must have taken no small amount of effort.

She quashes her irritation, but only a little. "What's it to you?"

He clears his throat. "As the president of the service club, I have the responsibility to be concerned about any issue that affects our team dynamic." _Listen to this guy, acting so high and mighty. You're actually worried about us, aren't you?_

But this is Yukinoshita, who sort of understands her social circumstances and probably would understand her problems, so she starts to talk. She tells him about the accident on the first day of school, how Yuigahama was the boy whose dog she saved, and how he has been trying his best to interact with her ever since, as if paying off a debt.

"I see," Yukinoshita says. He pauses for a full seven seconds (Hachikuji counted). "Hikigaya-san, you seem to be under the impression that everyone else has an ulterior motive behind every action. Not that I am one to reproach you regarding this. But that may not be the case with Yuichi-kun. Throughout the time we've known him, he has struck me as slightly lacking in intelligence, but I know for a fact that he is sincere to a fault. If he says that he genuinely wants to spend time with you, that is probably the case."

Hachikuji considers this. Perhaps she was the one who needed to change her perspective this whole time.

"Though I have no doubt of his gratefulness to you, I am sure he wishes to be more than just your acquaintance," Yukinoshita continues. "Go talk to him. He is, after all, the closest thing to a friend we have ever had."

Hachikuji barks out a short, bitter laugh. "Talk to him? You make it sound so easy. What happened to your usual cynicism?"

"I _am_ being cynical." The hint of a grin starts to form on his face. "Since your relationship was never that strong to begin with, you have absolutely nothing to lose by settling things with him. Hence from this point your relationship will only improve, isn't that right?"

Using her own rotten logic against her? Hachikuji finds the corners of her mouth tugging up as well. "It can't be that simple."

"I never lie." says Yukinoshita. A calm, confident boy, brutally honest to a fault, yet willing to break through his own shell to offer help to those who need it. The sky is overcast, but the retreating sun casts dappled light onto his faint grin. Hachikuji burns this image in her mind. She opens her mouth to laugh-

-and is interrupted by the blare of a car horn. It seems a limousine has stopped right next to the building without them noticing. The front seat window rolls down, and a woman's head reveals itself.

Everything, from her body language to her facial expression, seem to give the "young and carefree" vibe; in fact, they positively scream it. However, the only thing Hachikuji notices are her eyes. Call it a woman's intuition or years of skepticism, but the moment Hachikuji looks into the two glassy orbs she instantly senses an ocean of playful malice behind them.

"I'm here to pick you up, Yukio-chan!" she sing-songs, mouth twisting into a casual smile. Beside her, Hachikuji feels Yukinoshita tense up.

"Nee-san," he sighs. "I explicitly said you didn't need to."

Yukinoshita's sister puts her hand up to her forehead and swoons, as if her feelings have been deeply hurt, not only further irritating the already ticked-off Yukinoshita but also giving Hachikuji a negative impression of her. "So cold! Mom was concerned about you, you know. Said something about how your associating with friends could affect your grades."

On that note, she pretends to have just noticed Hachikuji. "Goodness, who's this? Oh, is that the girl who we knocked down the other day? My name is Yukinoshita Haruno, nice to meet you!"

Hachikuji's eyes widen in shock as she realizes the implications of what Haruno has just casually brought up. Haruno begins to engage her in casual conversation, but Hachikuji's eyes are already trailing past her to look at the car. A huge black limousine, probably belonging to some rich societal big-shot...

And sure enough, its hood is adorned with the figurine of a flying angel.

Hachikuji can feel the butterflies forming in her stomach, which quickly morph into bees, then hornets. The angry buzzing seems to reach her ears. Her head is a mess.

She doesn't turn to look at Yukinoshita in shock; she's not Yumiko-san (nor will she ever allow herself to become remotely as dramatic as her). Instead, she lowers her head to shield her gaze with her bangs, squints her already-narrow eyes and peeks at him from the corner of her vision. His face has turned completely pale.

"Hikigaya-san," he mumbles so softly Hachikuji can barely hear him. "I wasn't... I didn't mean..."

"Ah, sorry, was she not supposed to know?" Haruno puts on an exaggerated shocked air. Then, with a look that indicates she knows full well that she's making things worse, she turns to Hachikuji and offers an apologetic smile which looks so sincere it makes Hachikuji sick. "Yukio-chan was sitting at the back at the time, so he had nothing to do with the accident. Don't be too hard on him, 'kay?"

Yukinoshita turns even paler.

Hachikuji knows full well that she shouldn't let Yukinoshita Haruno have her way. That the best way to spite this demonic woman is to turn to her petrified younger brother and forgive him on the spot with a smile on her face. However, she cannot bring herself to do this.

"Hikigaya-san, I-"

"Yukinoshita. There won't be any club activities next week, right?" This is the best she can do. Trying to hide the tension in her voice, she forces her face to make a neutral expression.

"Ah.. y-yes. Summer holidays are coming up, so c-club activities are suspended starting from today."

"Right." _There I was feeling guilty for hiding my personal problems from you, and it turns out you've been hiding the most from the both of us. What a joke._ She spins around to hide her face. "I'll be going back now."

 _What was I hiding my face for?_ she wonders as she sprints back into the building. Then the answer hits her as she feels the warm tears streaming down her face.

Part 5

One time when Hachikuji was in middle school, she chanced upon an article titled 'How to get rid of facial signs that you have been crying' while browsing the web. As it turned out, the techniques displayed in the webpage prevented her reputation from declining even further on occasion, especially after certain emotional incidents.

However, for some reason or another, none of them work now.

"H... Hikigaya-san!" Yuigahama almost shouts when Hachikuji slowly trudges out of the washroom. "Wha.. did something happen?"

"M'fine. Slept too late yesterday," she mumbles tiredly. She has bigger things to worry about than clearing up some stupid spat that probably never existed to begin with. Such as her emotions. Without bothering to look up at the orange-haired boy, she stuffs her hands deeper into her pockets and quickly walks past.

He grabs her shoulder. "Does this have anything to do with the reason you've been avoiding me, by any chance? Please talk to me, Hikigaya-san. I can't know if you don't tell me!" _What a stupid assumption,_ Hachikuji thinks. The fact that both reasons are, in fact, closely related does not make her feel any better.

"I'll talk to you some other time, Yuigahama. But not today, alright? I've got my hands full already," she sighs, trying to slip out of his grip. It tightens.

"I'm worried about you, Hikigaya-san!" She whips around in disbelief and sees the desperation in his eyes. "You seemed like such a… a kind person on the first day of school, a-and when fulfilling my request, but ever since that accident you've been so... so withdrawn, and you glare at everyone and you barely talk in class and you don't hang out with anyone! And now, you-"

"I see." So it wasn't for the sake of repaying any sort of debt, but out of a sense of guilt. Bile rises up Hachikuji's throat. She can feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean? Hikigaya-san, I...I..." his expression shifts between earnestness and concern as he frantically tries to articulate his opinions.

 _Wait. This is wrong!_ Something deep inside Hachikuji screams. She vividly recalls Yukinoshita's voice.

 _A heartfelt opinion. "Throughout the time we've known him, he has struck me as slightly lacking in intelligence, but I know for a fact that he is sincere to a fault. If he says that he genuinely wants to spend time with you, that is probably the case."_

 _That's right,_ Hachikuji thinks, staring at Yuigahama's bewildered face. Their relationship can only improve from here, right? She should listen to Yukinoshita's advice and-

 _A slight grin. "I never lie."_

 _A pale face. "Hikigaya-san, I..."_

Blinding white fills Hachikuji's vision. She feels nauseous.

"You make me SICK!" she screams. Yuigahama recoils, shock written all over his face. Totsuka is rushing over with a worried expression, but she couldn't care less. Are these tears rolling down her face? It's a mystery even to herself.

She calms down. Wipes her eyes. Turns to gaze at Yuigahama, who flinches.

"Yuigahama. It's fine. I may have broken my leg saving your dog and missed the first week of school, but that was my decision to make. My social status, my behaviour in class, all that has nothing to do with that incident. So don't bother being so nice to me just because you feel bad about it.

"I don't need your disgusting sympathy. I don't need your nice guy behaviour. I don't need-" her voice wobbles; Yukinoshita's lost, petrified face floats at the forefront of her vision. "-your damn lies. Just... just leave me alone, already."

She walks out into the rain. (When did it start raining again?) She senses Yuigahama moving forward to stop her, but someone restrains him with a hand on his shoulder. Probably Totsuka. Poor Totsuka, to get involved in her personal affairs like this. She should apologise, someday.

Hikigaya Hachikuji doesn't cry any more on the way home; neither for the club president who didn't trust her, nor for the clubmate who she cannot bring herself to trust. She's way past the point of crying.

END OF CHAPTER 3

 **Author's note** : Sorry for taking so long to update! Chapter 4 should be up faster, hopefully. I'm not sorry for the amount of emo in this chapter, though.

Reviews are to me as solitude is to Hachikuji. Do leave behind a few if you have some to spare :)


	4. Chapter 4

Part 1

Hachikuji's phone buzzes for the fifth time in three minutes. Lying on the sofa amidst the blistering summer heat, she attempts to groan until her larynx gives up. No doubt Hiratsuka-sensei has heard of her embarrassing emotional outburst and is desperate to bring her wayward pupil back onto the right path. Hachikuji would feel guilty about it, if not for the fact that this is Hiratsuka-sensei who probably has nothing better to do.

Succeeding on the third attempt to roll over, she picks up her vibrating phone.

 _4 missed calls from Hiratsuka Shizuka._

 _3 new messages from Hiratsuka Shizuka._

" _You didn't answer my call. Are you asleep?"_

" _Stop faking. Answer your phone."_

" _I'll kill you, seriously. Answer your phone."_

A chill runs down Hachikuji's spine. She can only hope the afterlife will have shounen manga. But she's at home, so at least she'll be able to say her goodbyes to Komachi before Hiratsuka-sensei comes over to murder her in cold blood. With that reassuring and highly optimistic thought in mind, Hachikuji returns the call.

As expected, Hiratsuka-sensei picks up immediately. "Oi, where are you?"

This doesn't sound like the prelude to a lecture. But this is Hiratsuka-sensei, who considers manga as part of Japanese literature, so at this point, anything is possible. "At home," she replies.

"I'm having the service club help out in a summer camp. Did Yukinoshita not tell you?" Ah. So Yukinoshita and Yuigahama are there. Indeed, now that she strains her ears, Hachikuji can hear their pleas in the background.

"Please stop, sensei. This is not the right time to..."

"Hikigaya-san is not in her best state right now, sensei. Please don't..."

Their efforts fell flat, not unexpectedly. "So?" Hiratsuka-sensei barks. "You coming or not?"

 _Good news: Hiratsuka-sensei doesn't seem to know about my temper tantrum. Bad news: She doesn't need that knowledge to make my life miserable._

This calls for serious contemplation. On one hand, the unholy fear of the demonic entity that is Hiratsuka-sensei has long seeped into every fibre of her being. On the other hand, complying will mean spending a few days with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. Childish as it may seem, Hachikuji is not prepared to face them just yet. "I..."

A hand on her shoulder. It's Komachi.

"You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to, Onee-chan. Komachi will handle it for you!" Flashing a deceivingly bright grin, Komachi takes the cellphone and walks into her room.

Hachikuji cannot hear the conversation that takes place afterwards, but perhaps that is for the best. Hiratsuka-sensei appears to be sniffling when excusing her from club activities over the phone afterwards.

She should really stop relying on others for everything, Hachikuji thinks while burying her face into the sofa. Despite being an extremely-cute-Yandere-Imouto figure, Komachi is still her little sister and should be depending on her, not the other way round.

 _...I really am useless, aren't I?_

Part 2

For the following few weeks, Hachikuji repeatedly resists the urge to contact Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. She doesn't know when the summer camp ends, and who knows what summer activities they are getting involved in afterwards? They'll have no time to provide or entertain an apology.

She knows she's just making excuses. Hachikuji has always taken pride in her ability to criticize herself, as this minimizes the chance of hypocrisy. Even more so, she revels in the fact that she has accepted every single one of her weaknesses by refusing to change her rotten personality. Bit by bit, this unwavering pride has begun to crumble.

So when Yukinoshita contacts her two weeks before summer ends, she doesn't quite know how to respond.

Naturally, he sounds just as nervous as she is. "Well... Yuigahama-san's birthday passed a few weeks ago. Before summer holidays started, actually. As the Service Club's president, I found it needful for us to celebrate it, albeit belatedly." Discouraged by Hachikuji's lack of response, he clears his throat as if mustering the courage to go on. "Hence, I was wondering if you are free to accompany me and purchase his birthday present on Saturday."

 _So basically he wanted to ask me out._ Hachikuji's heartrate increases drastically, ignoring any attempt she made to bring it back to one that was rationally acceptable.

"I'll call you back," she mumbles and hangs up immediately. She is definitely not ready for this.

 _This is an overreaction, isn't it._ In the first place, it's not like Yukinoshita did anything wrong. Telling his club members about his role in the accident was his choice to make, and so was the decision to trust his club members. It was just that his actions had not matched Hachikuji's ideal of him. _Always talking about how he's the club president and everything in the club is his responsibility, never afraid of being criticized or ostracized, and yet he couldn't trust his club members not to shun him? Stop screwing around! "I never lie", my ass..._

Hachikuji shakes her head vigorously. Now isn't the time to make her chaotic emotions worse. She's just overreacting, she repeats inwardly. At any rate, he wants to make things better, doesn't he? She should cooperate. But...

Her head is such a mess.

Out of the corner of her eye, Komachi exits her room and heads for the front door.

"Ah, Onee-chan. Komachi was just about to go buy some eggs! Would you like to join me?"

"Yeah, sure." Hachikuji stands up too quickly, sending a rush of blood to her already-addled brain and creating black spots in her vision. When she comes to, Komachi is staring at her with a mildly concerned expression.

"Onee-chan, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I was expecting you to refuse like you always do. You almost never step outside the house, aside from for school."

 _Why'd you ask, then?_ "Whatever, let's go already."

Part 3

The purchase is short and simple, making Hachikuji wonder why she accepted Komachi's offer. Perhaps she thought the walk would help to clear her head? It's a mystery even to herself.

The walk back is just as uneventful, prompting Hachikuji to distract herself with her surroundings. The soft evening breeze ruffles her her. Amidst the setting sun's orange glow and the illuminations from street lamps, streams of people flow from place to place. So many individuals, each with their own lives, relationships and personal issues.

Gazing at this mass of individuals, Hachikuji suddenly feels insignificant. Do her conflicts with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama even matter in the grand scheme of things? Have her actions and issues ever made a ripple in someone else's life?

Should she even be caring about such things? In the first place, it is her own unreasonable emotions that have gotten her into this mess. These people have a workplace to go to in the morning, and a home to return to in the evening. Their emotions don't affect their lives or the issues they face. Perhaps she should do the same and detach herself from her problems-

Breaking her train of thought, Komachi turns to her. "It's a blessing to have someone welcome you at home, isn't it?"

"Well... I guess. It probably doesn't apply to every situation though."

Komachi makes a face. "Onee-chan, your cute little sister was trying to be sentimental. At least try to play along." Her smile looks especially suspicious in the fading sunlight. "So, what's bothering you?"

 _You planned this all along, didn't you._ "Nothing much. Just, y'know, personal issues... that kind of stuff. Yeah. It's not that important."

"Nonsense!" her adorable little sister replies with a flourish. "This is the first time Komachi has seen you so bothered by personal issues, so it's gotta be serious! So, spill it!"

There's still a while left until they reach the house, and Komachi probably won't drop the subject until she gets answers, so why not? Hachikuji tells her little sister about her issues with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, and how her emotions are getting in the way of resolving these issues. Originally intending to summarize and downplay her problems in typical Hachikuji fashion, she ends up spilling much more than she can account for. Throughout the spiel, Komachi listens with a smile on her face.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that, Onee-chan," she says finally. "Everyone's problems are caused by emotions in some way."

"You don't understand." Hachikuji mumbles. "I don't even care about those two guys that much, but my emotions are preventing us from interacting normally, not to mention resolving our issues. And given our shallow relationships, these issues aren't significant enough to be worth solving in the first place."

Komachi laughs, like the clear peal of a bell that floats through the evening air. "Emotions aren't something that only other people have, Onee-chan. I'm sure what you're going through has happened to everyone at some point. Also, I'm sure these relationships of yours are worth fixing, seeing as it's been bothering you for so long."

"I-I'm fine with the way we are right now," huffs Hachikuji, even though she doesn't believe her own words. "Besides, I've chosen the path of a lone wolf, detached from all aspects of society. It's not like I'll be able to make much of a difference."

"There you go, looking down on yourself again." When Hachikuji turns to look at her sister, she is surprised to see Komachi wearing a sad smile. "You make an impact in the lives around you whether you want to or not, Onee-chan. Komachi's life isn't perfect, but at least when I go home every day, there's always an older sister with dead fish eyes to welcome me back. That's always been one of the things I'm grateful for.

"Your actions may not change anything in the grand scheme of things, but they'll definitely affect your clubmates. I'm sure Yukio-san and Yuichi-san want to resolve things with you too. At the very least, Komachi thinks you should give it a shot."

Hachikuji spends the rest of the walk home in silence while Komachi cheerily rambles on about her day. Does she want to fix her relationships? Could it be that her clubmates want to fix these relationships as much as she does? There's only one way to find out.

She messages Yukinoshita when she gets home.

Part 4

According to Komachi, the girl's role for a date is simple; dress up nicely, turn up 15 minutes late and apologise. It is the boy's role to say "It's fine, I just got here", insist on paying for everything, insist on carrying everything, escort the girl home afterwards and offer the prospect of another date in future.

This blatant abuse of gender stereotypes greatly irritated Hachikuji, so she turns up at the mall 15 minutes early instead. Her irritation grows when she notices that Yukinoshita is already there.

He looks up, and Hachikuji can see the uncertainty on his face; no doubt he is unsure of what to say, given their situation. He eventually settles with an observation.

"...You're early, Hikigaya-san."

Even though she is wearing the clothes that Komachi lovingly picked out for her 'date', Hachikuji feels momentarily uncomfortable. Seeing Yukinoshita so unsure of himself is certainly not helping to restore her already-shattered image of him.

"Y-yeah. You didn't wait long, did you?"

"O-of course not. I just got here..."

Hachikuji's left eye twitches, and he looks away, clearing his throat. "That was a lie. I arrived three hours ago."

Hachikuji doesn't know whether to be impressed at his seriousness or pissed at his lying to her (again). _But I'm only angry about it because it's Yukinoshita, which is unreasonable. I should stop forcing my idealistic expectations on him._

Despite his obvious nervousness regarding the date and her emotional outburst, Yukinoshita is trying his best to keep a straight face and appear the cool, confident boy he has always been. Hachikuji feels bad for him. Slightly.

The feeling evaporates when he extends his hand to her and bows teasingly, like a perfect gentleman. It's Yukinoshita, after all. He'll bounce back from this soon enough.

"Let's go, then."

...

It takes the both of them approximately half a minute of walking to realise they have no idea what kind of present to buy for Yuigahama.

Yukinoshita coughs. "I'm afraid I failed to take this factor into account. Would you have any idea about his interests?"

Classic Yukinoshita, maintaining his cool facade even while admitting to a major mistake. Irritation at his unreasonable question aside, seeing him like this relieves Hachikuji a little. "No idea," she says blandly. "Aren't you supposed to be more familiar with him? Guy talk and all."

"'Guy talk'? Unfortunately, I have no desire to indulge in that sort of vulgar and meaningless conversation. I would say that it's you that has conversed with him more. Do you have any knowledge concerning his interests?"

"No idea." Hachikuji snorts, then just to watch him squirm, adds a flippant "Just give him a card or something. Only a shallow-minded individual would attribute the value of a gift to its price-"

"-absolutely not. Hikigaya-san, may I remind you that his is our valued clubmate and deserves to be treated as such." _Wow, aren't you cool. My heart would have skipped a beat there, if not for the fact that you don't even bother talking with this 'valued club member' most of the time._

"Clothes, then," she sighs.

...

Lounging around in the men's clothes section is, needless to say, extremely mortifying. Amidst the curious glances thrown her way by shop assistants, Hachikuji tries to focus on Yukinoshita's rambling, which admittedly isn't much better.

"From what I have seen, Yuigahama-san enjoys blending in with the crowd and keeping up with social trends. Perhaps buying the most recently fashionable clothes would be the best option?"

Hachikuji snorts.

"But then again, Yuigahama-san seems popular enough to set fashion trends himself. In that case, should we buy him clothes that deviate from the norm?"

"Not like he can wear this clothing in school anyway. They won't affect his social influence," Hachikuji grumbles.

"A fair point. Perhaps we should-"

Hachikuji grabs the nearest set of clothes and chucks them his way. "Your sizes are similar. Wear them."

"This won't do, Hikigaya-san. We must carefully-"

" _Wear them."_

"...yes, ma'am."

...

They buy the clothes, effectively ending the shopping trip in 20 minutes from when they started. It's normally the girl who extends this time by a few hours, Hachikuji muses, but contrary to popular opinion, shopping trips can be efficient if the girl cooperates. _Normal girls would be sulking at the prospect of their shopping trip being cut short. I'm such a great date._

In fact, it is Yukinoshita who seems to be displeased by this turn of events. Sitting next to a fountain, he takes the clothes out of the bag and frowns at them.

"Hikigaya-san, I am not one to keep up with trends, but even I can tell your taste is horrible."

"Shut it. It's not like I chose them or anything." _Besides, we both know this wasn't the main objective of today._

As if sensing the subtext, Yukinoshita falls silent. Fifteen seconds pass. Then he lifts his head.

"Hikigaya-san, I-"

"Ah, Yukio-chan!" The subject in question stiffens. Hachikuji shivers. Yukinoshita Haruno approaches the both of them at a leisurely pace.

Unlike her younger brother, Haruno seems to be keeping up with the most recent fashion trends. She'd have to, given her social standing. Her smile is as bright as ever, but it sends chills down Hachikuji's spine. And her eyes... Hachikuji feels an irrational but justifiable urge to flee. _We need an exorcist! Now!_

"Hikigaya-chan, too! Yahallo!" Wait, _isn't that Yuigahama's standard greeting? What have you done to him? Also, don't pretend you just noticed me. It's deplorable._

"Nee-san." Yukinoshita feigns frustration, but is visibly nervous. Hachikuji can't blame him, given what happened the last time Haruno showed up out of nowhere.

"How adorable! Are you two on a date?" Haruno chirps, fixing Hachikuji with a stare that positively screams 'I'm not letting you have my cute little brother. Back off, hussy', or so Hachikuji thinks.

"Got a problem with that?" Hachikuji shoots back. She could easily explain the situation, but that would give Haruno the initiative for further teasing. Hence she must intimidate and challenge the enemy instead. For good measure, she throws back a look that hopefully conveys the message 'You can have him for all I care, demonic brocon'.

Against all physical limitation, Yukinoshita stiffens further. It seems he has read the subtext yet again and is greatly intimidated. Hachikuji can't blame him; women are scary. _Why is his face red, though? He looked away for no reason, too..._

Haruno swoons. "How hurtful! I was just caring for my cute little brother like any responsible older sister would." She pretends to check her watch. "And now I've got to go, so please do carry on! Hikigaya-chan, be gentle with him, okay?"

Yukinoshita's face flushes an even darker shade of red. _Why are you affected by such a obvious attack? Get a grip already!_

Staring at Haruno's retreating back, Hachikuji heaves a sigh of relief. As far as encounters go, this one was pretty tame; at least she won't need to avoid Yukinoshita for the next few weeks again.

Yukinoshita exhales slowly. "Sorry about that. My older sister may like to cause trouble, but she's not a malicious person. Most of the time, at least."

"I don't blame her. It's hard to keep up a mask like that all the time, after all. She has to find some kind of avenue to relieve the stress." Yukinoshita looks up in surprise. "What? It's not _that_ hard to notice."

"...Hikigaya-san, could it be that you are actually a refined observer of human nature?"

"That's what I've been telling you from the start." she deadpans. His mouth twitches upwards. "Oi. Not funny."

"My apologies," Yukinoshita says while lowering his head, the annoying half-smirk still plastered onto his face. But only for a moment, before he turns serious again. "Hikigaya-san, I-"

At this point Hachikuji is convinced that fate does not want Yukinoshita Yukio to apologize, because his second attempt to do so is cut off by a dog's bark.

Half a second later, a brown dachshund rockets into Hachikuji's lap and attempts to lick her face.

Yukinoshita's face is starting to show the beginning of recognition and dread, but Hachikuji already knows where this is going.

"Hikigaya-san, that..."

"Yeah. Same dog."

"Ah! Sablè!"

 _We have ten seconds before Yuigahama appears and we get busted,_ Hachikuji thinks. Yukinoshita prepares to leave in five.

Yuigahama sees them in three.

Part 5

Fortunately, Yuigahama does not immediately assess the situation and jump to conclusions.

"Ah. Hikigaya-san, Yukinon. Yahallo!" He scans her face almost desperately. _Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen him unsure of how excited he should be._

Upon determining Hachikuji's expression as neutral, he hesitantly continues. "Um... fancy seeing both of you here! What's up?"

Hachikuji sinks into the sea of thought. From this situation, Yuigahama can and will easily deduce (incorrectly) that she is on a date with Yukinoshita. If she confirms this, there is no telling how this will affect the dynamics of the Service Club. (Dating in friend groups of three is a huge mistake; Hachikuji doesn't need to be the source on this to know.) However, giving away the fact that they came to buy his birthday present in an attempt to explain the situation will ruin the surprise and defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place. Therefore, there is only one way to worm out of this compromising situation in the most effective way possible

"We aren't on a date."

...

...

...

Yukinoshita glances at her, as if to say "I saw you deep in contemplation and assumed you had the situation under control, but really?" Yuigahama does not look convinced in the slightest. In fact, it seems that he didn't suspect anything about them dating until Hachikuji brought it up by denying it.

A nervous laugh. "Oh, I... see. I-I'll leave you guys to it, then. Whatever you're doing. Thanks for taking care of Sablè!" Gently prying the dog from her hands (it seems really attached to her for some reason), he flashes them a quick smile and darts off.

Two figures stare at his retreating figure in silence, as if mourning the loss of the Service Club's group dynamic.

"...he totally got the wrong idea, didn't he."

"...and who is to blame for that?"

Part 6

They stand in awkward silence outside the shopping mall. The sun begins to set, turning the sky a beautiful hue of orange, reminding Hachikuji (with a visible shock) of Yuigahama's similar hair color.

"Thank you for today." Yukinoshita interrupts Hachikuji from her train of thought. "I enjoyed it greatly."

Hachikuji smirks. "Is that what you say to every girl you go on a date with?"

They aren't facing each other, but she can almost feel his face turn red. "Y-You're the first."

The setting sun feels a little too warm on her skin. "I-Is that so." Exchange ended, they stay in hesitant silence for what feels like half a minute.

She's being unreasonable towards Yukinoshita, Hachikuji realises. The point of asking her on this outing was for him to apologise to her, something he must have spent ages mustering the humility and courage to do. Even so, all she has done is to watch his struggle with a blank expression, expecting to receive something that he clearly has difficulty giving. In the first place, it's not like there's anything to apologise for.

"Hikigaya-san, I-"

"Yukinoshita. It's fine."

He turns to her, evidently confused. "Excuse me?"

She hides her eyes with her bangs and stares at the ground. "You don't need to apologise. I'm the one who should be sorry for overreacting the other day."

The silence turns tangible. Then, Yukinoshita lets out a slight chuckle. "You shouldn't give your apologies away so easily, Hikigaya-san."

 _Did Yukinoshita Yukio just laugh? Is the world ending soon?_ "You were about to do the same thing, weren't you?"

He smirks. "Of course not." though Hachikuji would love to punch the smug look off his face on a normal day, but this one gives her a feeling of relief. Of course he wouldn't apologise, this is Yukinoshita after all.

"I would apologise if I could clearly discern that I was in the wrong, but what I did was my choice to make." He continues. "However, your actions were understandable as well. As it stands, our relationship may well be ruined and I do not wish for that to happen. Hence, I suggest...

"...that we start from zero."

The moment before the sun sinks under the horizon is the moment it shines the brightest. In this moment, Hachikuji can only stare at the fiery light on Yukinoshita face, and the flaming determination in his eyes.

Is he offering the chance for a fresh start? After everything that's just happened... Hachikuji suddenly wishes she'd made the fake date last longer than twenty minutes. In a moment of childishness, she wants to grab Yukinoshita by the collar and demand that he take his offer back.

...no. This is what Yukinoshita wants.

"Fine." She feels like screaming. She looks straight at him instead. "My name's Hikigaya Hachikuji. I don't need fixing and I'd like to leave this club as soon as possible. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Yukinoshita smiles professionally. "My name is Yukinoshita Yukio and I have no intention of fixing you. Feel free to leave anytime you wish."

They stare at each other for a moment before bursting into almost raucous laughter as Hachikuji relishes in this emotion she hadn't experienced in what felt like years.

...

 _When you feel like it, will you talk to me and Yuigahama about the accident?_ Hachikuji feels like asking. I'm sure _Yuigahama will appreciate it if you trusted us more, and... I think I would, too._

But that would ruin her fresh start yet again. For the first time since the start of her high school life, Hachikuji refrains from speaking her mind.

END OF CHAPTER 4

 **Author's Note: Positive reviews depress me and I write more when I'm depressed. Do drop a few!**


	5. Chapter 5

Part 1

Hachikuji returns home and flops onto the sofa in exhaustion. Sustained interaction with other humans is bound to stress her out. She can only be thankful that she managed to clear things up with Yukinoshita, but that's only one hurdle crossed. She still has Yuigahama to deal with. Not wanting to think about this, Hachikuji groans and stuffs her face further into the cushion.

"Onee-chan! How did the date go?" Komachi walks into the living room, interrupting Hachikuji from her partially vegetative state.

"It was okay." Hachikuji mutters noncommittally, not wanting to give Komachi any openings to pounce on.

"Suuuuuure. It went really well, didn't it? You look like an innocent lovestruck maiden!"

Hachikuji tries to shoot her sister a dark glare, which comes out more like a pout. "Quit running your mouth."

"And how many times has Komachi had to listen to you run your mouth?" With an impish grin, Komachi conveniently seats herself on Hachikuji's left leg. _Heavy! Go on a diet before you kill your beloved Onee-chan someday!_ "Anyway, will there be the chance of any more dates in the near future? Komachi wants to be an aunt soon!"

Hachikuji sighs, ignoring the pins and needles that have already begun in her leg. "It was a one-off thing. Now shoo, I gotta take a bath."

Komachi retires to her room, but not before flashing one of her _Onee-chan is growing up so quickly, I'm so touched!_ smiles. Hachikuji lets out a sound of minor frustration, rolls off the sofa, and makes a sound of slightly less minor frustration.

As much as she'd deny it out loud, today could have been much worse. She didn't exactly fix her relationship with Yukinoshita, but they did reset it from zero (whatever that means). Despite this, a feeling akin to reluctance is still present in Hachikuji's heart. After all that happened at the mall, could they have solved the problems between them if they tried harder?

But it's too late now, Hachikuji supposes. What's done is done, and she likely won't get another chance to undo the reset (whatever that means). Summer will simply pass by in a flash, leaving her to spend her hours reading in the clubroom with him and trying to win that meaningless bet. Whatever hopes she had for today were all meaningless to begin with-

Her phone rings. It's Yukinoshita.

"Hikigaya-san, my apologies for imposing on you after talking up so much of our time today."

"It's fine," she mumbles. "What is it?"

"You're the only person I can ask this of. Please go with me to see the fireworks."

Part 2

"Oh? Another date?" Komachi positively _squeals_ as she slams her hands on the dining table. "Komachi was right after all!"

"I-It's not like that," Hachikuji mumbles, stuffing three spoonfuls of curry into her mouth in an attempt to hide her reaction. It doesn't work.

"You're blushing, Onee-chan! Komachi is going to get diabetes!" _It's not my fault, I'm a girl after all! I'm genetically engineered to react this way, yep. Hormones and all that._

"Like I said, it's not like that. He just needed me as an excuse so that he wouldn't need to go with his sister." Hachikuji was fairly surprised that his parents would allow him to do so, but apparently only Haruno's presence at the gathering will be needed to represent the Yukinoshita family. Hence the youngest Yukinoshita is free to do anything he wants in that period of time. _And of all the options he had, he chose me?_ Hachikuji feels another traitorous blush work its way onto her face.

"The event's in three days, right? You've gotta get everything ready? Where's your Yukata?"

"W-What? Yukata? Is that even necessary?" Hachikuji attempts to put up a brave front and display her loner mentality. The truth is, she hasn't worn a Yukata since elementary school and has long since thrown that set out. It takes Komachi approximately three seconds to realise this.

...

"...Onee-chan."

"What is it?" Hachikuji sighs, thoroughly resigning to her fate. Komachi is already standing up like a demon rising from the abyss. Darkness shrouds her expression.

"You are in no shape for a proper date." And with this outrageous declaration, Hachikuji feels her remaining free time for Summer Holidays slipping away.

...

"There! Aaaall done!" Komachi explaims while applying the finishing touches to Hachikuji's Yukata.

"Where did all my time go?" Hachikuji laments audibly, unaware that this is less due to Komachi's meddling and more because the lazy author decided to insert a three day timeskip.

"Quit whining. It ruins the mood, you know?" Komachi chirps, fastening the robe a _little too tightly_ for emphasis. "So, is Yukio-san coming to pick you up?"

 _What's this, more gender stereotypes?_ "Of course not."

"Minus boyfriend points." Komachi pouts. "Oh well. Komachi should be grateful that he agreed to date my rotten Onee-chan. Beggars can't be choosers, after all."

Hachikuji blushes. Whether from irritation or embarrassment, she can't even tell anymore. "I _told_ him not to pick me up! And we're not dating."

"Sure, sure. Now, remember all the things we went through?" Barely half of the date etiquette Komachi drilled into her has stayed inside her head, but Hachikuji nods nonetheless. This is the Yandere Imouto-figure that cowed even Hiratsuka-sensei to tears, after all.

"Make sure you bring everything. Extra lipstick?"

"Check."

"Extra hairbands?"

"Check."

"Sexy underwear?"

"..."

Komachi laughs. "You're good to go! Man, Onee-chan's growing so fast, Komachi's sure you'll be moving out soon!" Even though she says this in jest, there's a hint of sadness to them that Hachikuji only detects due to fifteen years of living with her.

 _Here I was thinking she was the mature one. She's just a kid underneath all that, huh._ Hachikuji smiles fondly, ruffling her little sister's hair. "Don't worry. I'm sure no man will be stupid enough to take me anytime soon."

"Don't be silly," Komachi laughs lightly, but Hachikuji can hear the ever-so-slight gratitude in her teasing voice. "Go on, then. Komachi will be rooting for you from the sidelines!"

 _The day when our bond gets so neglected to the point of decay will inevitably come,_ Hachikuji thinks as she exits the front door. _But that day is not today._

Part 3

By the time Hachikuji makes it to the festival, the sun has already set.

As agreed, she waits at the gate to the shrine, pretending to concentrate on her phone just in case acquaintances pass by. The people around her are exceedingly noisy. Hachikuji eyes the couples passing by the gate, absorbing the ruckus, trying her best to avoid the fact that she is nervous about meeting Yukinoshita. _Come to think of it, why do I feel nervous?_ The possible answer lingers somewhere the forefront of her mind before she pushes it back. The lapse in concentration causes her to drop her phone.

"G-Good evening, Hikigaya-san."

 _Give me a break. That was the worst possible time for you to show up!_

Hachikuji, picking up her phone, looks up to see a Yukinoshita clad in a yukata, who hurriedly looks away. She reasons that it's the ugly couples around them which makes Yukinoshita look unfairly good.

 _Why are you blushing? Isn't that my job? I'm doing it well enough already._

"Y-yo. It's been a while." Moments after stammering out this standard greeting line, Hachikuji realises that they have literally just met the day before. Ignoring the mistake, Yukinoshita closes his eyes and turns to walk through the gate.

"Shall we get going, then?" Hachikuji hurriedly snaps back to reality and follows after Yukinoshita. Soon, they're walking through the multiple stalls lining the walkway. With the raucous screaming of kids running past them, and the constant shouting of the stall owners, the festive mood is laid on thick. Hachikuji can almost ignore the incredibly thick silence between herself and Yukinoshita. Almost.

"Thanks for joining me today." Yukinoshita finally breaks the silence without looking back.

"Well, it's not like I had anyone else to go with either. In fact, this is probably the first time I've been asked to go to the fireworks by anyone." Hachikuji tries her best to reply casually, before realising that Yukinoshita's ears look extremely red.

 _What's with this situation?_

Hachikuji isn't dumb; she can obviously tell that the mood near a shrine is perfect for a date, not to mention the fireworks that are supposed to appear at the end have spawned so may cliched scenes that she has seen more times than she can count in Komachi's Shoujo manga.

 _Remember what you told yourself when you first met Yukinoshita! It isn't a good idea to mess around with the person of interest of about a fifth of the girl student population! Don't get carried away!_ Hachikuji steels herself and continues walking before bumping into Yukinoshita, who has stopped.

"What's the matter?"

"Let's walk the other way." Yukinoshita turns around, grabbing Hachikuji's hand and walking back. Hachikuji, pulled by Yukinoshita, stumbles forward and has to try her best to keep up with Yukinoshita, who is now walking at full stride.

"Why are you walking back? Wait up!"

…

After a period of brisk walking, Yukinoshita and Hachikuji make it to the riverside, where Hachikuji stumbles and collapses on her knees. She stares angrily at Yukinoshita, who has yet to explain himself.

"What was that for!?"

Yukinoshita, leaning against the handrails, hesitates visibly before turning to look back at Hachikuji.

"Would you believe me if I said I felt like coming to the river?"

 _Don't give me that crap!_ Hachikuji glares back at Yukinoshita, who sighs. He looks at the river, and the cheerful couples crossing the bridge. It would be a pity to end the good mood now.

"I saw Yuigahama."

"You _what?_ "

"Yuigahama was with his friends. They were playing at a stall together."

Hachikuji is surprised to feel anger welling up in her.

"Then why did you run away? What were you thinking? I-"

"I didn't want to spoil your mood by talking to someone who would only make you angry. Can we enjoy the fireworks without having to worry about past conflicts, or starting a new one?" Yukinoshita interrupts Hachikuji, effectively silencing her. With the obvious blush on Yukinoshita's face, Hachikuji can almost imagine him saying "I don't want to spoil our date" instead.

"I-I see. Well, I suppose that makes sense." It would be a bad idea to disagree with Yukinoshita at this point. Besides, she has no idea how to deal with Yuigahama either.

A lengthy silence ensues.

"Let's continue." Hachikuji says finally. She can't shake away the nagging feeling in her heart, though. What is wrong with her? Yukinoshita has asked her out (sort of), and all he wants is for their relationship not to deteriorate, especially after they both agreed to reset it. Playing the role of the gentleman, Yukinoshita extends a hand to her. Refusing to conform to any role, Hachikuji gets up by herself.

Soon, both of them are walking through the stalls again. This time, as per Yukinoshita's suggestion, they stop to play a few games. Judging from Yukinoshita's skill at most of the stalls, Hachikuji can tell that Yukinoshita is no newcomer to these festival games. Or maybe he's just got superior reflexes and hand-eye coordination to match his superior intellect. Some people just have it all.

She begins to wonder how good Yuigahama is at stall games. She quashes the thought.

Yukinoshita walks back to Hachikuji, who is waiting at a lampost right next to the fishing stall. He raises up a bag full of fish and his mouth twitches upwards.

"That was close. I almost didn't catch any."

 _This hurts._

 _Why do I feel so uncomfortable? Why does this feel so wrong?_ Yukinoshita has been nothing short of a perfect date partner, if Hachikuji's extremely limited dating experience is any indication.

"Shall we go onto another stall?" Yukinoshita looks expectantly at Hachikuji, who coughs and looks away. Why is he so earnest? Are the stalls that fun? Still, Hachikuji nods and follows Yukinoshita, who has already grabbed her hand and begun pulling her towards the food stalls.

Yukinoshita buys a bag of Yakitori and hands it to her, before purchasing one for himself.

"Hot!" Hachikuji spits out the chicken, which is so hot she can barely feel her tongue. Still, it's obviously tasty, and she can already feel the warmth from the snack going down her throat.

This is a classic date moment. The kind of scene Komachi would watch while squealing like a fangirl.

 _This really hurts._

(Somehow she doesn't feel like it refers to her scorched throat.)

 _But enough of that! Think happier thoughts, happier thoughts... what a delicious snack!_ Maybe Hachikuji should come back to this stall later for another bag. It really is tasty.

"Shall we go to another stall?" Yukinoshita asks the same question for the upteenth time. He seems to have noticed the change in her mood, and is desperately trying to downplay it. Hachikuji feels bad for him.

Nevertheless, there is nothing she can do about it. Nodding again, she familiarises herself with the feeling of getting pulled along.

Suddenly, as they are making their way through the sea of people, a bang resounds from the sky, and the people around them begin to scream in surprise and excitement. Looking up, Hachikuji realises that the fireworks have started. With vibrant blues, reds and pinks, the world around Hachikuji is painted in multicolour and flashes brilliantly, pulsing in rhythm. The sight is beautiful, and Hachikuji turns to look at Yuig- Yukinoshita, who is still holding her hand and is blushing furiously.

 _This really, really, hurts._

Yukinoshita tightens his grip and turns around. When their eyes meet, Yukinoshita flashes a tentative smile at Hachikuji, which fades in an instant.

"Hikigaya-san, you're crying."

Hachikuji moves her hand to her face, and flinches when it comes back wet.

"...Eh?"

Yukinoshita is smiling again. But this time, the smile is a lot more resigned.

"I'm sorry for forcing this... excursion on you."

Hachikuji blinks back tears. "No, it's not that, I'm really enjoying… I really want to enjoy this festival! I'm perfectly fine!" But the pain in Hachikuji's eyes only stings harder, forcing more tears out.

Hachikuji chokes when Yukinoshita grabs her shoulders.

"Hikigaya-san, I understand why you want to see Yuigahama-san, and I see why you need to resolve your differences. It was wrong of me to force this upon you, and I apologise for overlooking your feelings. So what I'm getting at is… I'll be joining my sister in the VIP area now. Whatever you do during this period of time is none of my business."

Hachikuji looks up. But through her tears, and the brilliant display of rainbow coloured fireworks in the background, and the roar of the crowd, she cannot see Yukinoshita's face. It's fine, it doesn't matter now. This is Yukinoshita, after all; Hachikuji is sure that he can take a hit or two. She has more important things to do right now.

"Alright." Hachikuji nods, wiping her tears away before turning and running.

"Now with that cleared up, I guess I'll enjoy the fireworks too." Yukinoshita says aloud, setting out for the VIP area. _How ironic_ , he thinks. _I'm the one who feels like crying the most._

…

Hachikuji sprints through the crowd, most of which has stopped to stare at the fireworks. It's much easier to maneuver through, now that everyone is stationary. Does she want to make up with Yuigahama that badly, or is it something else? It's a mystery even to herself.

 _Yuigahama-!_

Part 4

It's been a while since Yuigahama has been with his friends, so he's a little out of it. They don't seem to mind, but he is certain that his very presence is making the clique just a bit more awkward. Despite his assurances that he has long gotten over her, Yumiko-san has been avoiding him the entire time, subconsciously steering the rest of the group away from him. Despite his attempts to join in the conversation several times over the past few minutes, all he has achieved is making things more awkward. So he's stopped trying.

Despite Hayato-kun's mildly concerned stares, Yuigahama walks at the back of the group silently, playing the role of the observer. He doesn't blame them, of course. In fact, it would be more awkward if they acted completely normally towards him after the previous events. Besides, interacting with Hikigaya-san and Yukinoshita-san extensively have certainly changed his outlook and personality, if but just a little. He did join the Service Club knowing that his interactions with his other friends would never be the same, after all.

Before he and Hachikuji had their argument at the workplace visit, he had originally planned to go to the summer festival with her instead. Would it have been as awkward as this, he wonders?

Hold it right there! Stop that train of thought!

As if defying his subconscious order, a memory flashes past his eyes. Hachikuji and Yukinoshita, sitting together at the mall. Sitting together, on a weekend, dressed in casual clothes. What were they doing? No, it's obvious what they were doing, but…

Yuigahama forcefully suppresses his thoughts, and decides to focus on the group in front of him. It seems that they have started yet another petty squabble. Hayama, ever the good guy, is breaking them up with another award-winning smile.

What's with that way of thinking? He's starting to sound like Hikigaya-san now. Yuigahama smiles, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

"...What do you think, Yuichi?" Yamato-kun suddenly turns to him and blurts out a question. Panicking, Yuigahama raises up his hands and takes a step back.

"Me? Huh?"

Yamato looks back at the rest of the group and sighs. "Indecision again, huh. Well, it wasn't a good idea to, like, ask you for love advice. I mean, you confessed to Yumiko! What kind of idiot would do that? You know what I mean?" He says this in jest, and bursts into good-natured laughter immediately after just to prove it.

The rest of the group follows suit, like part of a badly rehearsed script. "Yeah man, isn't it, like, obvious that Yumiko likes-" Tobe-kun stops himself, and the rest of the group stares to look at Hayama. He blinks back blankly.

"What?"

"A-Anyway, how're you doing after Yumiko rejected you like that? Any new love interests? Tell us, dude!" Yamato hurriedly breaks the silence, putting an arm around Yuigahama. Yumiko-san looks away, unsure of what to do.

 _Girls, huh._

Hachikuji flashes across Yuigahama's mind for a moment, but Yuigahama hurriedly quashes the thought away once again. "Well, you know, it, like, takes time to get over a crush and so on, haha..."

The rest of the group seems satisfied with that answer. "Yeah dude, I feel you! Haha, for a moment I thought you might have a new crush on that girl in the weird club you joined. You know, the one who begged Yumiko for chocolates or something... since you've been sticking around her and all that."

"Oh yeah, her. I completely forgot about her. She was, like, so weird at that time. What's with her, man?"

For possibly the first time since he joined the clique, Yuigahama interrupts Tobe's words. "Hey. Hikigaya-san isn't a bad person. She's not used to talking to people and she doesn't see the need to, but she's not-" He stops when he realises that everyone is staring at him.

"She's not what?" They ask in unison.

"...Nothing." Yuigahama looks down at his feet and decides to end the conversation there. When he looks up, the others have already continued their idle conversation, but Hayama still stares intently at him. After a while Hayama flashes another brilliant smile and looks away, but the discomfort in Yuigahama's chest only grows.

"Hey, let's go for the fortune telling next!" Hayato-kun suggests, and the rest of the group cheerily agrees regardless of individual opinion. Hikigaya-san was right, Yuigahama thinks, this clique really does revolve around him.

... It's not like they're bad people, they really aren't, but over the course of the past few months Yuigahama has come to realise that his discomfort with their shallow interactions is steadily growing. Or maybe it's just a side effect from joining the Service Club.

Before his train of thought can progress any further, the group starts moving. Yuigahama follows suit.

…...

Is that Yukinoshita-san?

The familiar head of raven-black hair moves through the crowd. With the massive throng of people milling around, Yuigahama just barely catches a glimpse of his stony face before he disappears.

Nah, it can't be.

...

"Damn! I got bad luck! What a bummer, man! Oh dear god, I'll pray for the next month."

"Stop joking, dude! We all know you're not gonna go to the shrine at all. I got bad luck too! We're, like, bad luck buddies!"

As the rest of the group laughs, Yuigahama stares at his fortune.

" _Great Luck. Today, you might be able to find the one you truly love. Things will work out well with them. Don't be afraid to try new things."_

Once again, Hachikuji's face flashes across Yuigahama's mind, making his heart flutter for a moment. But then, the image of Hachikuji and Yukinoshita sitting together at the mall once again flashes across his mind.

 _What is this feeling?_ Yuigahama's chest feels constricted, and he has to try increasingly hard to keep up the smile plastered on his face, but he can already feel his facial muscles pushing it down.

Suddenly, with a loud explosion of sound, the world surrounding Yuigahama is dappled in beautiful blue light.

"Fireworks!" A loud shout from Yamato makes Yuigahama look up at the sky, where the fireworks display has already begun. A million beautiful droplets of colour, streaking across the sky, exploding in magnificent flowers of fire.

The rest of the group is already cheering, and some of them have begun to shout.

"Imagine what it would be like to watch these fireworks with a girlfriend!"

"That would never happen, dude! As if any of us could get a girl!" They laugh again.

The face of Hachikuji flashes across Yuigahama's mind again, and a burst of emotion he cannot suppress this time rushes to the forefront.

Hayama, observant as always, notices the tear that rolls down Yuigahama's cheek.

"What's up, Yuichi-kun? You feeling ok?"

Yuigahama hurriedly wipes the droplet away before anyone else notices. "Yeah, I gotta go use the washroom. You guys can go ahead, I'll catch up."

Hayama looks back at Yuigahama with a questioning look, but nods.

He doesn't make it to the toilet.

…

Yuigahama uses the bench as a support before he stumbles over. Turning around to the grass behind the bench, his overboiled emotions finally dominate his stomach. He vomits.

Hikigaya-san awkwardly smiling after realising that Yuigahama was the owner of the dog she saved, eyes betraying her shock and realisation.

 _Hurl._

Hikigaya-san's face, contorted with anger when accusing Yuigahama of pitying her. An expression of distrust, disgust, and disappointment.

 _Hurl._

Hikigaya-san smiling and talking to Yukinoshita at the mall, before fading into awkwardness upon spotting Yuigahama.

 _Hurl._

Why does he care about her to this extent? Why would he care about how she thinks of him? Has he been so used to being liked by others that he is bothered by one particular girl hating him? Does he like her that much? Or is it out of gratitude? A sense of obligation? Guilt? He doesn't know. _He doesn't know._

Yuigahama Yuichi's emotions continue to boil and simmer in his stomach. Frustrated tears stream down his face.

 _No, this is all wrong, but why!? Why did it end up like this? I can't-_

"Yuigahama." The sudden, familiar voice jolts Yuigahama, causing him to whip around.

And standing right in front of him is an awkward, flustered, panting, and slightly annoyed Hikigaya Hachikuji.

...

In the night summer sky, the fireworks show obliviously carries on.

Part 5

Yuigahama stares at Hachikuji, who is now bent over, panting heavily. Eventually she looks up. "What's up with you? Food poisoning?"

 _Why are you here? But if you were here, and Yukinoshita was… I see._

Another sting of pain issues from Yuigahama's chest, and he smiles awkwardly. So they were on a date. "Nothing serious. Go on, you won't want to keep Yukinon waiting."

Hachikuji's head whips up to stare back angrily at Yuigahama, which makes Yuigahama snap out of his thoughts in shock.

"Don't give me that bullshit."

 _Eh?_

Hachikuji brushes herself off and stands back up.

"Me and Yukinoshita aren't dating, you idiot."

 _Ehhhh!?_

Yuigahama recalls the scene at the mall. What was that, if not a date? While Yuigahama is still pondering this, Hachikuji tosses him a small box. Yuigahama, despite his surprise, manages to catch it. It's barely the size of his fist, and is wrapped in a blue floral wrapping paper.

"This was… kind of an apology, I guess? You know, with all the arguments and stuff, we really botched the Service Club dynamic." Hachikuji has noticed that Yuigahama is staring intently at her, and she looks away while mumbling this.

"So basically, when we went to the mall, we were buying a birthday gift for you. Yeah, that was it. There's no way me and Yukinoshita would go out, not with his incredibly sharp tongue and his terrible sense of hu-" Hachikuji can see Yuigahama's flushed face from the corner of her vision, and she stops herself, blushing furiously.

"What I'm saying is, don't go off by yourself and assume things like that about us!"

Yuigahama continues to stare at Hachikuji. Listening to Hachikuji's explanation has made him happy? Relieved? Yuigahama can barely understand or sort out his feelings. Looking at Hachikuji, he realises that he has somehow failed to notice how good she looks in her yukata all this while. He takes note of it now.

Fervent cheering and screaming, and the continuous popping of the fireworks in the background fills up the silence between them. For some reason, Yuigahama can see a red tint on Hachikuji's face, and wonders if it's just a trick of the light.

 _Today, you might be able to find the one you truly love._

Yuigahama can feel his ears becoming red hot, and valiantly tries to ignore this.

"I don't want to lose this. The service club, and you. Yukinon, too. Both of you are so important to me I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you guys," Yuigahama blurts out and regrets it almost immediately.

Hachikuji sighs and seats herself next to Yuigahama.

"Neither do I. I've told both of you many times, but I chose the path of the loner. But that doesn't mean that I… don't want to associate with you guys? Well, either way, it would be nice if we didn't have to end up as strangers."

 _Ah. That's good to hear_

Yuigahama smiles and nods.

Hachikuji upon seeing Yuigahama's expression, blushes once again and turns away, speaking with a more annoyed tone.

"Look. A lot of unhappy things have happened, and remembering them would only make our time in the Service Club even more awkward. So Yukinoshita suggested this to me, and I think it'll work here too. Something like a reset? We start from zero as strangers, no, as acquaintances. We reset our relationships, and move on from there."

A reset, huh. Yukinoshita remembers the arguments, and the painful emotions once again. Maybe a reset isn't so bad after all. But he once again has a nagging feeling in his heart, and this time he realises it's useless to hold it in. Not after he's gotten the chance to finally make things right.

 _Don't be afraid to try new things._

Yuigahama steels himself.

"No. Not a reset."

"But-"

"Not a reset. I want to make up with both of you. I don't want to throw out these memories, because they are a part of me. They may be unhappy, and unforgiving, and make us uncomfortable, but they are _my_ memories! My memories of me, you, and Yukinoshita. We aren't acquaintances, and definitely not strangers! Don't write off your precious memories so easily!"

Hachikuji looks surprised at Yuigahama's declaration. Yuigahama doesn't blame her; He's surprised at himself too.

"But if we don't reset-"

"No, not a reset. Let's make up. I want to cherish the memories we've made. I want to remember how we met, and how we argued. But I want to move on too! So let's make up, right here and now."

A brief pause issues as Hachikuji stares at Yuigahama wordlessly. He pauses, but stands up. _Don't falter now, Yuigahama Yuichi!_ He holds out a trembling hand towards Hachikuji, swallowing his saliva. His throat feels drier than ever, but he doesn't care.

"I'm sorry for everything. Let's continue to get along."

Hachikuji stares at the hand wordlessly. She certainly didn't expect something like this out of Yuigahama. Perhaps she should revise her expectations. She laughs as she takes Yuigahama's hand, and Yuigahama pulls her up.

A firework explodes, and the air is once again painted vivid in beautiful hues of colour. The two friends (more than that, perhaps?) stare at each other and smile. Yet another cliched moment for Komachi to squeal at. Hachikuji feels mortified, even more so when she realises that she doesn't care in the slightest.

"Um, how do I say this... Yuigahama, th-"

Another cheer from the crowd drowns out Hachikuji's next line, but Yuigahama understands anyway.

…...

"You got dumped, didn't you, Yukio-chan?" Yukinoshita Haruno smiles a semi-malicious, semi-playful smile and prods her younger brother's side. "Come on, you can tell your loving Onee-san anything, y'know!"

Yukio doesn't respond, a stark contrast to the usual scathing retort. _Huh,_ Haruno muses inwardly, _he's got it pretty bad._

Silence hangs between them while the myriads of colour explode above them. Then, as if talking more to himself than to her, her little brother speaks up.

"It may appear so, but it was all calculated on my part. I invited Hikigaya-san out here knowing that Yuigahama-san would attend as well, and that this event would be the perfect opportunity for both of them to settle their differences. This is all for the sake of the group dynamic of the service club, which is nothing to concern yourself with, Nee-san."

The way he tries to conceal his turmoiled emotions is almost painful to watch. Haruno rifles through a mental list of insults and taunts, and eventually settles for a weak response. "I see. What a dedicated club president!"

"J-Just watch the fireworks, will you? You have to look like a proper representative of our family."

"Same goes for you!" she cheerfully returns.

The world is her plaything, but this is her little brother after all. Just for this one night, Haruno decides, she'll spare him.

END OF CHAPTER 5

 **Author's note: The word count has been dropping for the previous chapters, so I took extra care to make this one a little longer :D**

 **P.S. I'm glad to see that 008 got such a positive reaction! Rest assured, chapter 3 is in the works!**


	6. Chapter 6

Part 1

Hachikuji wakes up from her nap exactly in the middle of Homeroom.

Normally, at this precise time, Hiratsuka-sensei rouses her from her slumber with the infamous Iron Fist of Justice. If Hiratsuka-sensei does not perform this act of violence, she must be taking advantage of Hachikuji's lack of consciousness to do something questionable. Conditioned by this logical train of thought, Hachikuji always makes it a point to wake up at this exact time regardless of what happens.

And for the very first time, it pays off. On the blackboard, beneath the huge underlined phrase 'Culture Festival Class representatives', are the names 'Yuigahama Yuichi' and 'Hikigaya Hachikuji'.

"...Sensei, what is the meaning of this?"

Said sensei whirls around in shock. "Hikigaya? I thought you were asl- nevermind. As you can see, there's no way you can weasel your way out of this one!" The look of shock quickly morphs into triumph. Are you a _teacher or a Shounen manga villain?_

"I don't recall volunteering to represent the class on the Culture Festival Committee."

"I nominated you." Without any sense of shame, she flashes a smug grin. The entire class holds back a collective sigh. "And you didn't exactly object, so..."

"Well I'm objecting now."

"DENIED!" Hiratsuka-sensei yells gleefully, as if she waited the whole of Homeroom just to say that line. Knowing Hiratsuka-sensei, she probably did. "We've got no other volunteers, so it's the end of the line for you!"

From across the classroom, Yuigahama flashes Hachikuji a sympathetic smile. She scowls back. _Well I guess it's better to do it with him than some guy I'm not acquainted with; he's probably the second most favourable option, right behind Totsuka._ Then, a miracle happens.

"Um, excuse me, Sensei? I'd like to volunteer." All eyes turn towards a girl sitting in the corner. Hachikuji immediately recognises her as leader of Class 2-E's second most influential clique and narrows her eyes. What was her name again... Sashimi?

Hiratsuka-sensei watches in horrified disbelief as her heinous plan starts to crumble. "Sagami? Why're you volunteering? Being on the committee is a lot of work, you know?" _And that's why you made me do it, right? Revoke it! Revoke your teaching license!_

"Well... I just thought I'm not very good at this sort of leadership stuff... so maybe I wanted a bit of experience? I'm not too sure if I can do it, though..." _Bullshit,_ Hachikuji immediately realises. _Even the lack of certainty you're showing everyone is fake; you just want everyone to affirm your decision and make you feel good about yourself._

Evidently, Hiratsuka-sensei is thinking the same thing. "Are you sure? If you want to take on the responsibility, you'll have to take it seriously."

"Ah! S-Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insincere. But come to think of it, I'm not too sure if I can do it... maybe I should forget it after all..." _Stop acting already, geez. We all know you're gonna take the role no matter what we say._ But Hiratsuka-sensei looks pleased with herself, and Hachikuji realises she's letting her one and only chance slip away. Desperately, she narrows her dead fish eyes at Yuigahama, praying that he'll take the hint.

Yuigahama starts at her sudden glare, then turns around to whisper something in Hayama Hayato's ear. The class is dead silent; Sagami isn't getting the votes of confidence she was aiming for. At this rate she'll be forced to withdraw her initiative for fear of humiliation and Hachikuji will be representing the _class_ in a _committee_ designed to plan a _social event_. Who would have thought this was a good idea?

The modern Literature teacher who wears a labcoat to class, that's who. Hachikuji groans and slumps onto her desk, and at the exact moment when all hope seems lost, Hayama speaks up.

"Sagami-san, I think you should give it a shot. In my opinion, you've certainly got the capability to do so." The entire class turns to look at him quizzically, but because this is _the_ Hayama Hayato, they subconsciously find themselves agreeing. _If Hayama told the class to jump out the window, they would probably do it._ Hachikuji found herself thinking with a cynical smile.

"M'yeah, I guess..."

"Well, she _is_ pretty capable..."

 _Such is the power of the Riajuu_ , Hachikuji thinks. But true power lies with the individual that can bend the Riajuu to his will. _Well played, Yuigahama. I would never have thought you were this cunning._ As if sensing her gratitude, Yuigahama turns towards her and flashes a thumbs up.

The one most affected by Hayama's bold statement is, of course, Sagami herself. "Re-really? Well, it absolutely won't do to let you down, Hayama-kun! Sensei, I'll do it."

Even though they are on opposite sides of the classroom, Hachikuji can feel Miura Yumiko's menacing aura spike noticeably. Looks like Hayama will be in quite a bit of trouble later on. How altruistic. Hachikuji momentarily sets aside her hate for the top of the social ladder and thanks him inwardly.

 _At any rate_ , Hachikuji thinks, staring at Hiratsuka-sensei's dejected face as she erases Hachikuji's name from the board. _Depending on the Riajuu was well worth it._

...

"Yuigahama called in sick," announces Hiratsuka-sensei the next day, before a malicious grin spawns on her face. "Hikigaya, you'll be replacing him on the Culture Festival Committee. No objections."

 _...I want my money back._

Part 2

Hachikuji finds herself walking to the student council room after school. Why she actually bothers showing up is a mystery to herself; little to no progress is going to be made in the very first meeting, she just knows it. She tells herself it's because of a certain teacher who would kill her if she did otherwise.

When she steps in, a familiar face greets her.

"Why, hello, Hikigaya-san. What brings you here today? I thought for sure that you would never be the type to organise a school event such as this one." Says Yukinoshita with a blatant smirk on his smug face. The bespectacled girl beside him is already furiously typing away on her laptop despite the fact that there is literally nothing to do yet. _What's with these 2-J students? They're too elite for their own good!_

"Ask that slave driver of a teacher," grumbles Hachikuji in response, as she takes the seat closest to the door for convenience. (It also happens to be at the corner of the table, which is a plus.) Her ire intensifies when she realises that it's the seat right next to sashi- Sagami and her group of friends, who have decided to tag along for no good reason.

The room is filled with a number of big-shots even Hachikuji has heard about. Most of them are well known for their grades or popularity (or both), and obviously recognise each other, talking amiably among themselves. Yukinoshita, however, is left alone in another corner of a room. Hachikuji doesn't need to wonder why.

 _School festivals, huh._

Hachikuji can vaguely recall one of the school festivals in middle school. At the end, the students were made to dance in pairs around a massive bonfire. With Hachikuji's class having exactly 25 people, she was naturally the lone student left to dance by herself, so she spent that period of time in the washroom instead. The memory makes Hachikuji shiver.

While she was lost in thought, the student council members have made their way into the room, and everyone else has taken their seats.

Student council president Shiromeguri Meguri stands up to speak. "Hi everyone, thanks for volunteering to come today! I'm looking forward to working with you guys, let's make this culture festival a fun one!" She drifts off and gives a cheerful smile.

Hachikuji lets out a bitter laugh internally. _Volunteering, my ass._

"If you don't already know, I am Shiromeguri Meguri, the current student council president. While it is the job of the student council to organise events for the student body, we third years are currently busy with our final exams. As a result, we need an Executive Committee for the Cultural Festival. Any volunteers?"

Hachikuji can already feel herself instinctively shrink back into her seat. Thankfully, there isn't a certain teacher present who would call her out for doing so. She takes a glance at Yukinoshita, who is… not raising his hand? _Well, that's a surprise._ Hachikuji thought that Yukinoshita was the kind of person who would volunteer in an instant for the leadership position; from his point of view, the best way to get things done is to do them yourself. Instead, he has folded his arms, leaned back and his eyes are closed.

As a loner, Hachikuji has mastered the art of detecting energy spikes in the auras of others. Caused by extreme emotions of excitement or anger, this phenomenon tends to indicate that the person is about to say or do something incredibly stupid, hence indicating that contact with said person should be limited. Right now, Hachikuji abruptly feels one such spike from her left.

"I-If anyone else doesn't mind, I guess I could try." Sagami stands up and glances tentatively at the room. Hachikuji shrinks further into her seat. _Show-off._

The room is silent, and Shiromeguri-senpai decides to take this as consent, nodding towards Sagami. "Sagami… Minami-san, right? Since there aren't any other volunteers, welcome to the team! Does anyone want to volunteer themselves as second-in-charge?"

This time, Yukinoshita begins to raise his hand, but puts it down almost instantly. Hachikuji raises her eyebrows in surprise, and Yukinoshita immediately averts his gaze when their eyes meet. The room is silent once again.

"Well, since there aren't any volunteers, we'll put this off till the next meeting..." Shiromeguri-senpai grins awkwardly and laughs in the deadly silent room.

 _What is he doing?_

Part 3

The next meeting is two days later, so with nothing better to do, Hachikuji goes to the clubroom after school the next day. The clubroom is empty without Yuigahama's blinding presence. _Come to think of it, I always took him for granted. You can get crippling depression from just sitting next to Yukinoshita by yourself for an afternoon._

 _Should I pay him a visit?_ Hachikuji wonders for a moment, but brushes that thought aside as she takes a seat. Moments after Hachikuji has taken out her book to read, Yukinoshita walks into the clubroom as well.

"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-san." Yukinoshita doesn't bother to glance at her before taking his usual seat next to the window.

Soon, without Yuigahama to start any conversation, the clubroom is deadly silent once again. _Note to self: Ensure that Yuigahama never calls in sick again._

"...you do know that staring at me will not achieve anything, right?"

Hachikuji skilfully averts her gaze to the floor; it's a skill she's picked up thanks to her nature as a loner. "W-Well, I was wondering what was with you yesterday. I thought you'd be the kind of person who would volunteer for leadership positions in an instant."

Yukinoshita looks surprised for a moment, before turning back to his own book. "Well, there are a few… circumstances. You see-"

The clubroom door slides open loudly, interrupting Yukinoshita's sentence. With the door open, Hachikuji can hear the loud chattering outside.

"Nah, you shouldn't ask for help from, you know, someone like him!"

"Shh! He can, like, hear you!"

Yukinoshita scowls and Hachikuji winces. This meeting is not looking good, and it has yet to start.

Sagami Minami strides into the room. Two of her lackeys tail behind, having the decency to look somewhat sheepish. Sagami, on the other hand, is confidently beaming from ear to ear.

"Hey, guys!" Sagami's overly friendly tone makes Hachikuji wince, not bothering to hide that fact from Sagami. Yukinoshita wordlessly stares at the three who are now standing in front of the clubroom. He's improving, Hachikuji realises; a few months ago he wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face.

"This is the Service Club, right? Actually, I have a request for you, if you don't mind listening to it..." Sagami stares at the ground under the pretension of being bashful, directing her sentence toward Yukinoshita.

 _What's the point of acting all embarrassed and vulnerable when you burst into the clubroom so casually just now? And besides, could you try not to disregard me so easily? What's the point of saying it's "a request for the Service Club" when it's actually for Yukinoshita? As much as I hate to admit it, this one's way worse than Hayama._

"The aim of the Service Club is to provide assistance to the student body. Speak your request, and we shall act accordingly." Yukinoshita mechanically states. As if sensing Hachikuji's unease, his tone is gradually getting icier.

Sagami ignores the blatantly cold tone of Yukinoshita's reply and grins back. "I knew I could count on you!"

 _Another problem has appeared._ Being the head of the second most influential clique in class 2-E means that Sagami is positionally considered second to Hayama in terms of campus popularity. However, this is not the case. Lacking charisma and a large-enough fanbase like the top Riajuu himself, Sagami is actually a fairly insignificant individual where the student body is concerned. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to recognise this fact, her lackeys can't afford to break it to her and the other students couldn't care less. _She's under the impression that we absolutely can't refuse her because she's popular enough to crush us socially,_ Hachikuji realises, dread settling in her stomach. _Yukinoshita hates that kind of attitude._

Sagami continues, "Well, you see, I'm the head of the Cultural Festival organising team right now, and there's obviously a lot of work that I have to do, and still a lot of things I don't understand..."

 _Figure them out yourself,_ thinks Hachikuji in a moment of defiance. But she can already see where this is going.

"So I was wondering if you, one of the students with a _great_ reputation, could help me with my job. Basically, my request is for you to become the vice head for the Cultural Festival organising team and help me out in my leadership duties, if that's fine with you..."

 _What kind of request is that? And how much are you going to use that annoying tone?_ Hachikuji glances at Yukinoshita. He's obviously annoyed by Sagami's style of speech, and is starting to look increasingly displeased.

"Sagami-san, I believe such a request is not legitimate. Also-"

"Well, ya see, I thought I could get the help of someone really capable, since you're Yukinoshita Haruno's younger brother, and the Cultural Festival during the year that she organised it was really splendid..." Sagami interrupts Yukinoshita, scratching the back of her head to provide the image of a shy girl as she explains.

 _Crap._ Hachikuji opens her mouth to interject, but stops when she notices that Yukinoshita has paused too.

"Well, I guess I don't mind. Your request is accepted. I will assume the role of vice-head executive and assist your role as head from there."

...

 _Eh?_

 _What's with that sudden change of heart?_ Hachikuji stares at Yukinoshita in bemusement, who has closed his book and is now standing up, an unreadable look on his face.

"I'll look for Shiromeguri-senpai now to sign up for the post." Yukinoshita picks up his bag and makes his way out of the clubroom, followed by a smug Sagami and her overjoyed lackeys. When the door shuts, Hachikuji is left alone in the clubroom save for her thoughts.

 _...The hell is he doing? Well, it's none of my business anyway._

Hachikuji picks up her bag and makes for the door as well, trying and failing to quash the feeling of dread that has arisen in her heart.

...

"I see," muses Yuigahama when Hachikuji calls to inform him of the club's latest request. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Yeah. It's not hard to see why."

The two fall into silence.

"...Hikigaya-san."

"Yeah?"

"Take care of Yukinon in my stead, alright? I'm counting on you."

 _Trust, huh..._ Hachikuji swallows. There seems to be a lump in her throat. "Alright."

Part 4

"Advertising Team, report on your status." Yukinoshita orders without looking up from the papers on his desk. Beside him, Sagami plays around with her revolving chair. _Is it just me, or does this look like an accurate representation of a corporate chain of command? This world is a truly rotten place._

"Y-Yes, Advertising Team here, we've begun drafting the webpages to be put on the school website."

"Already?" Sagami pauses her gyrations in a feeble attempt to show some semblance of professionalism for the first time in the past fifteen minutes. "That's pretty fast! Keep up the good wor-"

"-No. That will not do. I've already mentioned several times that the webpage should be up and running by this week. Hurry up with the development. What about the progress with our sponsors?" Sagami opens her mouth to speak, but shuts it almost immediately after. Hachikuji smirks. _That's your end of the Faustian bargain, Sagami. If you hire a work demon, prepare to be outdone._

One by one, teams are called up, and they dutifully report their progress, which perpetually seems to be behind Yukinoshita's incredibly strict schedule. Once or twice Sagami tries to point out that getting everything done two weeks before the festival is a bit too tight, but Yukinoshita dismisses her arguments magnificently.

...okay, maybe Hachikuji is a _little_ biased, but who can blame her?

Hachikuji looks around the room, and she can practically sense the energy fluctuations in the students' respective auras. Some of them have already begun to whisper among themselves, and Hachikuji catches a glimpse of the occasional finger pointing at Yukinoshita.

"Wow, Yukinoshita-san is really capable, isn't he."

"Of course! He's _the_ Yukinoshita Haruno's younger brother, after all."

 _Energy is best used when not spent._ Sighing, she waits for her turn to be called up.

"Historian Team, report your status."

"We've recorded copies of emails and interactions with our sponsors, and other groups involved with the festival. We've also taken down the planning and progress of our organisation team for the past 2 weeks."

A pause.

"Good pace. Keep it up. Concert team..." Yukinoshita continues with the roll call, and Hachikuji heaves a sigh of relief.

It could well be her imagination, but the glances thrown her way seem to have a little more animosity in them.

…...

"Sorry I'm late!" Sagami bursts into the Student Council Room, interrupting Yukinoshita's roll call for the third meeting this week. Behind her are her usual two lackeys. With a perfectly synchronised casual wave, they dreamily exit the clubroom immediately after entering. Sagami flashes them a smile and takes her time to wave them off.

Hachikuji glances at the clock at the front of the room, and nearly laughs out loud. _I'm sure you don't want to do your job either, but isn't turning up an hour late pushing it a little?_ By the feel of the negative energy that has started to simmer in the meeting room, the other members of the committee don't seem to be taking it as lightly as she is.

"I'm sorry, my class meeting overran! I'll sit down now!" Sagami ignores the stares of the rest of the committee as she takes a seat next to Yukinoshita at the front of the room.

"Sagami-san, I understand your enthusiasm for your class's role in the festival, but please tell them that you have to be punctual for the committee meetings." Hachikuji cringes upon hearing the sharpness of Yukinoshita's voice. His displeasure is justifiable, though. Whoever heard of a chief executive who skips half of all the meetings?

Sagami laughs sheepishly and replies, "Yeah, I understand, but my class is really important to me too, ya kno-"

"Anyways, here are the documents that require your approval. Please use your stamp." Yukinoshita, interrupting Sagami's meaningless ramble, takes a stack of papers off his own work pile and dumps it onto Sagami's section of the table (which was previously completely empty).

Hachikuji glances at the stack of documents in front of Yukinoshita and smiles bitterly. Even with the thick stack of papers handed to Sagami, who is now going through the papers and stamping them without bothering to read the contents, Yukinoshita's workload remains massive; the stack of papers on her desk more than twice the height of that of any of the other committee members. Not to mention that most of the documents he handles are stored in his laptop. Hachikuji would call in sick just to avoid taking up that amount of work.

...come to think of it, she could have done that this whole time. Why didn't she think of it earlier?

Yukinoshita turns back to the rest of the committee. "Advertising Team, report your sta-"

"Oh by the way, Yukinoshita-san, I thought that this year's cultural festival might need some help, so I got someone who's really experienced to come next week!" Sagami doesn't bother to look up from her paper-stamping, and can't catch the look of frustration on Yukinoshita's face. Or maybe she has and is obviously ignoring it.

He sighs and replies. "Who is it?"

Sagami flashes another smile. "Surprise! It's your sister, Yukinoshita Haruno-senpai!"

"...Is that so."

Yukinoshita pauses for a moment before continuing his roll call, and Hachikuji can clearly see that he's much more shaken than before.

 _What a pain._ Hachikuji is faintly aware that the committee is approaching the ground at terminal velocity, and has no idea where to find a parachute.

Part 5

"Hikigaya-san, keep up the good work." Hachikuji turns to look at the speaker, but before she can, another pile of papers is dumped next to her computer.

 _So it begins, huh_.

Just like how the ideal form of communism can never be achieved, there will always be inequality regarding workload and rewards where a large group of workers is concerned, driven by a lack of incentive to work and compete. For this particular event, Hachikuji notices, this phenomenon has surfaced earlier than usual.

During the planning stages of most class projects and the like, it is not uncommon for the workpiles of the more popular students to be pushed to the less popular ones. This eventually results in the lackeys at the bottom of the social caste ending up 'sick' or 'unfit for work'. Usually, due to Hachikuji's unapproachability, and the unreasonable ideals known as gender stereotypes, she wouldn't be asked to do the menial work, and was usually left alone as long as she did her share. If inequality in terms of workloads did occur, Hachikuji would probably be one of the lazier individuals. However, perhaps it was due to Yukinoshita's efficiency and work ethic that she did not notice how much the people around her were slacking off. Now, she has found herself on the receiving end of this unfair social behaviour.

The stack of papers next to her desk is now much taller than before, and the harder she works, the more it seems to grow. _And I thought being an assistant historian would be an easy job._ Sighing, she takes a look at the front of the room, where Yukinoshita is seated, busy arguing with one of the other committee members.

...Looking at Yukinoshita's simply _terrifying_ workload, she's suddenly almost feels relieved looking at her own pile. Only that Yukinoshita's well-being is part of her responsibility too...

"As I said, at the pace your team is going, we won't be able to secure our resources in time to make adequate preparations for the event." Yukinoshita's calm but sharp voice, like the eye of a hurricane, sends chills down Hachikuji's spine. She listens on in spite of herself.

"Yukinoshita-san, our team is already going as fast as we can. We need an extension."

 _Bullshit._ Hachikuji vaguely remembers one of the members from that team passing off his workload to her.

"Then work harder. If not, we won't be able to-"

"Wow, everybody's working hard! How wonderful!" A familiar voice suddenly issues from the door as it slides open, interrupting Yukinoshita's sentence. Yukinoshita Haruno strides into the classroom, with a beaming Sagami tailing right behind her, followed by… Hiratsuka-sensei? Seated a few spaces away from Hachikuji, Shiromeguri-senpai makes a noise that sounds like a cross between a frightful squeak and an apprehensive groan.

 _Even the student council president is worried now why oh why is everyone making my work so HARD._

Hachikuji groans audibly. She forgot that Yukinoshita Haruno would be coming today. It's almost like a truckload of problems have just driven through the door. However, the rest of the committee seems to think otherwise. Some of them gaze at Yukinoshita Haruno with deep respect, while others simply seem relieved. Only Hiratsuka-sensei seems to be wary of her, and keeps her distance while smiling at the rest of the committee members.

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just here to help out!~" Haruno waves at everyone before taking a seat at one of the desks at the front. The committee members pause for a brief moment, before continuing to mill around.

"...As I was saying, it's necessary that your team manages to secure sponsorship from the companies mentioned by the end of this week. That's the bare minimu-"

"Oh don't be so uptight, Yukio-chan! I'm sure that we can have a bit of leeway with the sponsorships." Haruno reclines back in her chair, sifts through documents (where did she get them from?), and interrupts her younger brother cheerfully.

Yukinoshita looks at his older sister and blinks several times, surprised. "Nee-san! When did you… nevermind. You're not in the committee, aren't you? Don't interfere where you are not needed. We cannot afford any more time, we're already behind schedule-"

"Sagami-chan!" Haruno tearfully clings onto the chief executive's sleeve. "Yukio-chan won't let me join the committee!"

Faced with this improbably childish attack, Yukinoshita stands rooted to the spot. "What... I never-"

But Sagami's expression has changed into something ugly and complacent. She probably thinks it looks cunning, but Hachikuji feels nauseous just by looking at her. "My, Yukinoshita-san! You can't disregard your sister like that, not after she came all the way here to help us! Here, Haruno-san, I'll register you as a committee member, alright?"

"Yay!" Haruno squeals. "Thanks a bunch, Sagami-chan!" Both of them flash visibly malicious smiles, but for completely different reasons. It's more than slightly unpleasant to watch.

Hiratsuka-sensei sighs. Hachikuji silently agrees.

Meanwhile, Yukinoshita appears to have just recovered from his sister's attack. "I-I do suppose that factoring in the two weeks I set aside as buffer time, we can afford for the sponsorships to be secured next week, but no later than that. You have an extension of three days."

The committee member looks relieved. He moves to return to his seat with a sigh, and as he passes by, he mumbles his appreciation to Haruno. On the other hand, Yukinoshita silently starts typing on his laptop again. Hachikuji wonders what expression he's wearing, but a curious glance from Haruno snaps her out of it, and she gets back to grinding documents. _That's how she gets people to stop slacking off? Just stare at them until they start working? Man, I need those demonic eyes._

...

"Keep up the hard work, Hikigaya-san." The girl seems relieved, shrugging her shoulders repeatedly while walking off. The papers she has just dumped on Hachikuji's table are evidently extremely heavy.

 _Is this a thing now? Is this gonna be a thing from now on? This is pissing me off._

Hachikuji sighs, but still picks up the documents to look through them. The meeting hasn't even started, and people are already pushing work to her.

The door slides open smoothly, and the room that was previously lively with idle chatter falls into dead silence as Yukinoshita strides into the room with his sister cheerily entering behind him. Everyone hurries to their seats and prepares for the meeting. Haruno sits right next to Yukinoshita, on Chief Executive Sagami's seat. No one stops her.

"Good afternoon, everyone. We'll begin the today's meeting today. However, today, before the roll call, we have something more important to discuss." Yukinoshita looks around the room for a response, but gets nothing.

"A-As most of you already know, our school has a tradition of setting a slogan for every Cultural Festival. Since this slogan is of traditional and historic value, it's very important to set a good one for each year. Any ideas?" Yukinoshita once again checks the room for some sort of response, but this time Hachikuji can tell his demeanour is a lot more resigned. _Ah, so he knows too._

As expected the room is completely silent.

"A fun festival, a festival of colours, or..." Yukinoshita trails off.

Hachikuji can feel the silence pressing on her ears. _I really don't want to do this._

"A festival to remember, a school of harmony...something along those lines." Hachikuji is looking down at her feet, but she can hear how strained Yukinoshita's voice is becoming. She can't help but also feel some annoyance towards the other committee members. _Can't you guys contribute something for once?_

Hachikuji looks up, and she notices that Haruno is also about to speak.

 _Hey, this is bad._

If Haruno speaks, Yukinoshita would obviously go along with it, but still…

 _This is really bad._

Hachikuji recalls Yukinoshita's oddly melancholic figure, typing away at his laptop, ever the hardworking servant while his older sister made the Chief Executive's decisions on his behalf.

 _Do I really have to do this?_

Haruno finally opens her mouth to speak.

"How about-"

"A school of me (俺)." Hachikuji interrupts Haruno with her own suggestion. The silence in the room seems to thicken.

"Not 'watashi' or 'boku' (私 or 僕, the general pronouns), but 'ore' (俺), used more commonly for teenage guys? Explain, Hikigaya-san." Yukinoshita seems oddly interested. Hiratsuka-sensei, sitting in the corner, readies her legendary Fist of Justice.

Hachikuji smiles bitterly. _Self depreciation, start!_

"Well, you see, 'Ore' is an informal form of address, used by boys instead of the usual pronouns to create a stronger sense of self. I'm a great fan of irony, so forgive me for saying that this slogan is a direct contrast to the state of this committee. As a group we have no identity, no goal, and are certainly lacking in terms of team effort. Just as expected of the representatives of this school."

The expressions of the other committee members slowly turn into surprise, then anger. Hiratsuka-sensei sighs. Haruno looks vaguely amused. Hachikuji drinks it all in like a cocktail. "But at the same time, this slogan beautifully represents the individual sense of self that all the members of this committee possess. I mean, just look at the selfishness of everyone here!" She twists her mouth into a bitter smile, raises her hands and gestures at the members present.

"Everyone's only caring about themselves, and not realising the formality of the event they're organising, selfishly pushing all the work to me..." The committee members around her, who have been doing exactly that, now whip around and stare at her with shell-shocked faces. Defensive stammers and protests begin to gather.

"Oi, you-"

"Besides, imagine what it would be like when people find out the theme for such a traditional event. 'Ore? Are they serious?' Maybe it'd lower their expectations of this school to realit- oof!"

Hachikuji's brief moment of infamy is interrupted when Hiratsuka-sensei strolls over from the other side of the room and delivers a brutal punch to her stomach. She collapses, sprawled out on the table, but she grins while gritting her teeth; a villain must play the part. _Besides, that was worth it._

"The hell were you thinking?" Hiratsuka hisses angrily from behind her. The other students have also started whispering furiously.

"Wasn't that, like, so uncalled for?"

"What's her problem? I just wanted her to help out a little bit..."

The whisperings cease abruptly when Haruno bangs her fist on her table. Everyone glances at her. She's standing up but is nearly doubled over, her face is hidden, and she seems to be trembling uncontrollably. The students around her subconsciously begin to back off. Despite the pain in her solar plexus, Hachikuji strains to look up. _Let's see how the legendary Yukinoshita Haruno attempts to get this mess back under control..._

But contrary to everyone's expectations, Haruno suddenly rolls back into her chair and begins to laugh uncontrollably. Shock? That can't even begin to express what the rest of the committee members are feeling.

"Hikigaya-chan, you are HILARIOUS!" Haruno continues roaring with laughter, continually pounding the table for emphasis.

"Haruno, stop laughing. This is serious."

"I ca- I can't! You're so uptight, Shizuka-chan... haha..." Haruno forces her laughter to a barely audible giggle. Hachikuji is surprised herself. _Heh… so she got the joke._

Then another burst of muffled laughter erupts from the front of the table, and the committee members realise that Haruno is not the only Yukinoshita who is laughing.

"Hikigaya-san," Hachikuji turns her head, and sees Yukinoshita Yukio blatantly smirking for the first time in a few weeks, all the colour returned to his face. He takes a deep breath.

"Rejected."

"Ah, is that so..." Hachikuji takes her seat, and she can feel the now penetrating glares of hate from the rest of the committee. _This is the most I can do, I guess. Whether they will actually stop slacking and work together after all this is completely outside of my control._

"Sorry I'm late!" Sagami gasps for breath as the meeting room door slides open. Nobody seems to pay her any heed; the two Yukinoshitas are still busy giggling and the remaining committee members are still glaring at Hachikuji. Hiratsuka-sensei and Shiromeguri-senpai open their mouths to chastise the errant chief executive, but read the mood just in time to realise that this would put Hachikuji's effort to waste, and stop themselves.

 _Heh, mission accomplished._

For the next few days, the committee members, enraged by Hachikuji's outrageous insults, begin to work more diligently. While they seem to pile more work onto her out of spite, Hachikuji also notices that the stack of documents on Yukinoshita's side of the table has visibly lessened. It certainly isn't a permanent measure, and the members are bound to resume slacking sooner or later, but Hachikuji feels somewhat relieved to see the stress on Yukinoshita's face lessen a little.

 _Why am I feeling relieved? Because I've accomplished the task Yuigahama asked me to do?_ Somehow it feels like it's more than that. Hachikuji doesn't know, but she has certainly learned to stop caring.

…..

"Good afternoon everyone, let's get to work today!" Sagami claps her hands and begins the meeting (half an hour late). Standing beside her, Hiratsuka-sensei looks mildly displeased.

"...Wait a second, where's Yukinoshita? Don't we need him to get anything productive done?"

Sagami stares back at Hachikuji, and her eyes narrow. "What about him?" _Are you implying that my presence is not sufficient?_ her eyes seem to say.

 _Damn right I am,_ Hachikuji wants to scream. _How could you still give that face despite everything you've done? I even had to fill in our class's booth registration in your place!_ Instead she says "Well we can't just start the meeting without him, right?"

Hiratsuka-sensei sighs."Yukinoshita called in sick today. You'll have to make do without him."

 **END OF CHAPTER 6**


	7. Chapter 7

Part 1

The Chief executive slams her hand onto her desk. "Alright, let's get started! Advertising team, report."

The Culture Festival Organising Committee members exchange nervous glances. A silent consensus is made, and a male student speaks up. "Um. There's no advertising team anymore, Sagami-san."

"What, slacking off already? Man, I don't attend a few meetings and this sort of thing happens..."

"Um, no. I meant there's no more advertising to be done, so the members of the team got split up and reassigned." Upon saying this, the brave soul looks around at his peers nervously, just in case he missed out something that the Chief Executive didn't. Said peers stare quizzically at Sagami, trying to figure out what they're doing wrong.

Sagami, on the other hand, has quickly inferred that the fault is hers and desperately tries to mask the fact. "Already? Man, good work guys! I can't believe you got all that work done on such short notice! Well, we've still got quite some time, so let's take it easy today!"

Rapidly thickening silence befalls the meeting room. Then like a lamb to the slaughter, the male student speaks up. "Um, Sagami-san?"

"What is it?"

"...the festival starts in two weeks."

 _Our first meeting without Yukinoshita_ , thinks Hachikuji, _and you can't even call it a meeting anymore. Welp, time for some damage control._

"All this talk about slacking off, but it looks like you're the most laid-back one in this degenerate committee, Chief," Hachikuji drawls, putting extra effort into making her voice sound annoying. "Maybe if you'd just attended a few more meetings-"

"-Hikigaya," snaps Hiratsuka-sensei, though the look of evident irritation of her face says she'd love Hachikuji to continue. "That's enough."

The ruse works, well enough. The Chief Executive's major error now forgotten cleanly, the Committee members turn to fix death glares at Hachikuji, a sight she's gotten used to over the last few meetings. Determined to prove her wrong, the members get back to their respective jobs with renewed vigour, leaving a stunned and humiliated Sagami in their wake.

...

The Committee is behind schedule by a large margin. Even Yukinoshita's buffer time of two weeks is being eaten into at a considerable rate. As such, Hiratsuka-sensei has greatly emphasized the need for all members to work overtime. As expected, that doesn't stop them from leaving once the teacher exits the meeting room in the late evening for a toilet break.

To her credit, Sagami patiently waits for the last student to exit the room before marching over to Hachikuji's desk and exploding.

"What the hell was that? You're supposed to be helping me here!"

"I was," Hachikuji replies without looking up from her sizeable stack of documents. "Your request was for us to aid you in your role of Chief Executive, right? This includes pressing you to accept the responsibilities involved."

"Oh, you wanna get smart with me?" Sagami snarls, slamming both hands onto the desk in a pathetic attempt to look intimidating. "You're just an idiot. At least your _precious_ club president did his job properly."

This time Hachikuji does look up, giving Sagami a long hard look at her dead fish eyes. Eyes of bitterness and skepticism; eyes that reflect a weariness towards living after seventeen years of experience; eyes that blame and scorn. "Yukinoshita did not do his job. Instead of helping you take on the leading role, he chose to coddle you and overwork himself. And all you did was sit around and watch... no, you didn't even bother to do that. I simply refuse to make the same mistake."

"Shut up, already. You're not in a position to refuse me after accepting my request." And here a detestable, complacent smile forms on her face. "Honestly, you couldn't afford to refuse my request either, could you? You're literally the lowest of the low!"

"So you say, but we're exactly the same." _Funny how I'm not getting mad at her insults. Am I really that angry for Yukinoshita's sake?_

"Wha... there's no way I'm the same as-"

"Ah, what a refreshing dump that was!" Hiratsuka-sensei exclaims loudly, literally yanking the sliding door open. "Oh, Sagami, you're still here? I'll clean up after you, so go home already."

Too shocked and confused to object, Sagami grabs her bag and scuttles off.

"Great! Now that she's out of the way..." Hiratsuka-sensei marches over to Hachikuji's seat and flicks her on the forehead. "That's for giving me so much trouble."

…

Sure, it was a flick, but _damn_ , it felt more like a punch. Hachikuji nearly squeaks, leaning back and gripping her forehead, her chair toppling over from the inertia.

"That _hurt_ , dammit!" Hachikuji hisses after a while from her fetal position on the floor. "And what I did was necessary for progress to be made, you of all people should understand!"

"Never said it wasn't," Hiratsuka-sensei drawls, completely unrepentant. "But there are other ways to do it."

"Like relying on the teacher to handle the situation? Lot of good _that_ did- oof!"

"Like bringing the students together with conventional qualities such as charisma and tact, _was what I was about to say_ ," Sensei hisses while Hachikuji rolls on the floor, clutching her stomach in agony. Like the patient and caring teacher she is, she waits for Hachikuji to recover.

"No can do. You know I can't do that sort of stuff, so this is the optimal method for me," Hachikuji grunts, dragging her mostly unresponsive body off the floor. "The conventional methods you mentioned would eventually lead Sagami to get ostracized by the Committee anyway. This is the only method where nobody gets hurt."

"Nobody? What a rebellious brat." Hiratsuka-sensei's hand lands on Hachikuji's head, and for a brief terrifying moment Hachikuji decides to say her last prayers. But to her surprise, all Sensei does is ruffle her hair. Hachikuji looks up into eyes of bitterness and skepticism; eyes that reflect a weariness towards living after twenty-eight years of experience; eyes that, despite being hard as diamonds, are unreasonably warm and fond.

"Do what you think you must, alright? Just don't overdo it. You have no obligation to."

"I-I know that," Hachikuji mumbles, slipping out of Hiratsuka-sensei's grip. She instinctively casts her eyes toward the ground. "You're basically asking me to shirk my duties and let the Committee go under, aren't you. Is that what a teacher should be telling her student?"

Hiratsuka-sensei releases a bark of laughter. "I'd love to encourage you to have an altruistic attitude if it were so simple. But the world isn't that simple. You'd understand that better than anyone else I talk to, right?" Amidst the pool of emotions, a hint of bitterness and regret swims to the surface of her eyes. "Maybe if someone gave me that advice when I was younger, I would be higher up in life. Maybe."

"Was that when you were in your forties, Sen- oof!"

"You're just asking for it at this point, you damn brat," Hiratsuka-sensei scoffs, blowing on her fist and moving away from Hachikuji to chastise the other committee members. But she seems to have cheered up, which makes this pain somewhat worth it. Somewhat.

When push comes to shove, Hiratsuka-sensei is probably the person who understands Hachikuji, maybe even more so than Hachikuji herself. Is that why she is so hard-pressed to fix Hachikuji's attitude, forcing her to join the Service Club and the Culture Festival Organising Committee? A tide of raw emotion wells up unreasonably in Hachikuji's heart.

 _It's just like with Yuigahama, isn't it?_ Hachikuji used to think Hiratsuka-sensei was trying so hard to change her because that's what her job entails, but to think she it's been partially out of pity this whole time...

"Sensei. I appreciate your efforts, but doing all this for me isn't going to change anything. I love the way I am. I'll do everything I can to push back against your efforts and stay unchanged at the end of all this." Hachikuji spits this line out, bracing herself for the punch, or exasperation, or even an emotional outburst.

"That's fine," replies Hiratsuka-sensei, turning back towards Hachikuji. When Hachikuji looks up at her again, she has a fond smile on her face. "I guess I'll try my best too. That's my role as your teacher, after all."

"You sure about that?" What is this feeling of relief? Hachikuji is mortified to find that her voice is cracking. "You'll end up working outside your paycheck, you know? You'll be doing it even though you have no obligation to."

"If you are aware of that, stop giving me more work already." As Hachikuji stares up through increasingly painful eyes, Hiratsuka-sensei is grinning from ear to ear. "What a problem student you are."

For the very first time among her many interactions with Hiratsuka-sensei, Hachikuji is glad there's nobody else around.

…

Hachikuji's phone vibrates in her pocket while she's still working in the council room. Upon checking it, she notices it's from Yuigahama.

"If you have nothing else to do after the school festival stuff, why don't we go visit Yukinoshita?"

 _...How did he know that Yukinoshita is sick?_

 _Well, it doesn't matter._ Hachikuji is free anyway.

Part 2

 _First time going to a guy's house, huh._

Hachikuji ponders the implications of this while following an abnormally nervous Yuigahama down the street. While Hachikuji would probably decline going to any other guy's house, she understands very well that honour student Yukinoshita would have way too much pride to do anything questionable to her. While still lost in thought, she notices another glance from Yuigahama.

"Why are you so fidgety? I'm the one that's supposed to be nervous here."

Yuigahama quickly turns back when he realises Hachikuji has noticed his stare, but Hachikuji very clearly catches a glimpse of his blush.

"Well, you see, we haven't gotten the chance to be alone together since the, uh, Summer Festival..."

 _Oh, right. Now I have two reasons to be nervous_.

Hachikuji recounts the Summer Festival of Romantic Cliches, where she made up with Yuigahama and cleared up the misunderstandings between them. After watching the fireworks show, what did they do again? Go their separate ways _._ That reminds her, she also has to apologise to Yukinoshita for running off like that.

"S-So, when we get to Yukinon's house, we'll just go in to talk with him, right?" Yukinoshita breaks the silence with a practically rhetorical question.

"Yeah, I guess. By the way, how did you know Yukinoshita was sick?" Hachikuji couldn't care less about the information network of a popular student ( _Information flows freely toward those at the top of the social ladder. Source:me_ ), but she really needs a conversation starter right now.

Yuigahama responds after a pause. "Hayato told me. You know, since we're both friends of him and all."

Right. Hachikuji vaguely remembers Hayama mentioning that Yukinoshita and himself were childhood friends or something. It would make sense for him to know that Yukinoshita was sick.

"Thanks for coming with me today, by the way. It would be totally awkward if it was just Yukinon and me." Yuigahama follows this up with a lighthearted laugh. He's obviously a lot less tense than a few moments before.

 _And I'm supposed to make it a lot less awkward?_ Hachikuji doesn't think she can ever recall a moment in her life where she was seen as the conversation _enabler_. In fact, back in middle school, other groups of girls sometimes tried to engage her in conversation just to prevent boys from joining.

Despite her misgivings, she replies courteously like the benevolent individual that she is, "No problem, thanks for inviting me too."

Yuigahama slows down her pace before stopping in front of a building. It has a modern design, with a lot of glass. It's obviously classy. And expensive to live in.

"We're here."

 _This is Yukinoshita's house?_ Hachikuji can't help but wonder exactly how rich Yukinoshita's family is. His father is apparently a politician, but still...

As the two of them enter the complex, Hachikuji only finds her mixed feelings of awe and disgust multiply when she is greeted by a beautiful waiting lobby. Evidently this building is only for the residence of the top echelons of society, or in other words, the filthy rich. Yuigahama walks up to a panel of buttons next to the lift and inputs Yukinoshita's apartment number. After a pause, Yukinoshita's voice plays from the small speaker on the panel.

"Who is it?" Is it just Hachikuji's imagination, or is his voice _really_ nasal?

Yuigahama cheerily replies. "Yo, Yukinon! Me and Hikigaya-san are here to visit."

A moment of silence. "...Tell her to go away."

 _Is my presence that intolerable, or are you really that grumpy just because of a cold?_ Hachikuji can't help but feel a bit offended.

Yuigahama laughs nervously. "Come on man, she's just here to see how you're doing."

There's a sudden burst of what sounds like static from the speaker, and Hachikuji realises that that's the sound of Yukinoshita sighing. The lift doors slide open smoothly.

…...

Yukinoshita opens the door in a bathrobe. Despite the central heating, the temperature of the apartment seems to be sub-zero, probably because of Yukinoshita's dispassionate presence.

"Yahallo, Yukinon, it's been awhile!" Without missing a beat, Yuigahama gives his usual greeting, warming the apartment back up to room temperature. Hachikuji stares at the carpeted, air conditioned, scented front hallway in front of her. _What the hell, I want to live here too._

"W-Welcome. Please, make yourselves at home."

Following Yuigahama, who is already engaged in animated conversation with Yukinoshita, Hachikuji enters the apartment. It's extremely modern, with massive glass walls, and a few leather couches surrounding a glass coffee table in the centre. Despite this, Hachikuji feels like the room is rather… empty? Architectural design aside, Yukinoshita doesn't have many personal items or furniture in the room. His schoolbag is in a corner of the room, and has a laptop on the table, next to a tissuebox. That's about it.

The three of them sit down around the coffee table.

"Please wait here. I'll go make tea for you guys." Yukinoshita stands up but is pushed back down nearly immediately by Yuigahama.

"Don't push yourself, Yukinon! I'll go get the tea for you guys!" Yuigahama stands up and makes for the kitchen. Hachikuji wonders how Yuigahama is this familiar with Yukinoshita's house. She must have come here quite a few times.

Hachikuji looks at Yukinoshita, who stares back. They're both alone in the room now.

 _So much for enabling conversation._ Hachikuji has no idea where to begin.

Yukinoshita apparently doesn't either. He reaches for his laptop on the table.

"What are you doing?"

"Sagami-san was considerate enough to send me the soft copies of some documents from the meeting today. I have to review them by tomorrow." Yukinoshita casually replies, not looking up from his computer. _Considerate? Has the virus gotten to your head?_

"You've already overworked yourself and ended up falling sick, and you still want to continue? Are you crazy?" Hachikuji spits out the last line, unable to keep the disgust from her voice. She's been frustrated way too much recently.

Yukinoshita pauses, opening his mouth to speak, but closing it when he sees Hachikuji's dead glare. He shuts his laptop and sets it back on the table. _You actually listened?_ Hachikuji looks away, surprised.

"Why are you even trying so hard for the festival anyway? Come to think of it, why'd you accept Sagami's request to begin with?"

Yukinoshita looks down at his feet. "Well, as you know, my-"

"All done!" Yuigahama re-enters the room carrying a tray with three steaming cups on top, interrupting Yukinoshita.

"By the way Hikigaya-san, how's the progress for the School Festival you and Yukinon have been working on going? Sorry to force all that work on you, come to think of it. Actually, I could have come to school for the past few days, but planning isn't really my thing..." _Oi. Did I just hear what I thought I just heard? What happened to the nice boy who everyone depends on? You've been spending too much time around us, Yuigahama!_

 _Anyway, why ask me?_ Hachikuji glances at Yukinoshita, who takes a tissue from the tissue box and blows his nose.

"Go ahead, assistant historian."

"Well, the deadline's closing in really fast, and at the pace we're going with Sagami, we'll have to pull off some incredible last minute miracle to get ready in time."

"Really? Well, I was wondering why Sagami-san had so much time to go for class meetings when you were rushing off almost instantly after school each day."

"That's why you should let me do my job as Vice-President." Yukinoshita forcefully injects emphasis into his statement, but Hachikuji doesn't care.

"Your job as vice-president? Please! That's outside your job scope! Why don't you let Sagami actually do her job instead of babysitting her all the time? She'll take the blame if the festival fails anyways."

"Now now," Yuigahama interjects awkwardly, "let's calm down, there's no need to… "

"I knew being irresponsible is part of your very being, Hikigaya-san, but I will not shirk my duties just because they are unspecified!" _Ouch._ Hachikuji ignores the temporary sting and pushes on.

"Responsibility is one thing, self-sacrifice is another. You're not competent enough to handle all the jobs you've taken on, and you know it!" _Don't show any weakness. Belittle him. Assert your dominance. That's the only chance I have to make him stop overworking!_

"Why, you-"

"Pfft!" The heatedly arguing individuals stare at Yuigahama, who is convulsing with laughter.

"...He's lost it, hasn't he?"

"Indeed. I blame his prolonged interaction with you."

"No, you see, this is what happens during club all the time. You two argue over something, and I end up breaking you guys up. Isn't it funny? Even though the circumstances are so different now, we're still the same around each other." Yuigahama beams.

The remaining two consider this for a while. Then Yukinoshita sits back with a sigh. "That's true."

 _Nice save, Yuigahama. I had it all in the bag, though._

...

"When you two finish with the School Festival, be sure to come back to Club, alright? It's lonely without you two. I mean, not that I've been at club either... you get what I mean."

Yukinoshita and Hachikuji exchange glances again.

"Of course."

Their conversation falls back into idleness.

…..

"Anyways, I hope you get better soon! Sorry I have to go so early, I've got a family gathering to attend to. Well then-" Yuigahama gives Yukinoshita and Hachikuji a final wave before walking down the hallway and towards the lift.

The door closes behind him, and the mood immediately turns a lot more sombre. Just like when Yukinoshita and Hachikuji were alone in the clubroom without Yuigahama, before summer break.

Hachikuji looks at Yukinoshita, who is still facing the door. They silently make their way back to the couch in the living room.

Yukinoshita picks up his tea, which he still hasn't finished. The clink of the cup on its saucer is painfully loud.

"Yuigahama sure lightens up the mood, doesn't he?" Hachikuji blurts out, unable to keep the tension from her voice. _So much for engaging conversation._

Yukinoshita stares at her, and puts the teacup back down on the table.

"I wouldn't expect any less from a student at the top of the school caste. Not that a loner like you would understand."

"Was that supposed to be an insult? Sorry, but I have long embraced the path of solitude. Being a loner is one of my few sources of pride."

"...you really are an odd girl, aren't you."

"Well, sorry about that." _That couldn't be more untrue. Loners are model students; it's the rest of the school that's odd._

…

These awkward silences are starting to get really annoying. One would expect Yukinoshita and herself to have made progress in their relationship after all this interaction for the past few months.

On the other hand, she did ditch him on a date during the summer festival just to hang out with another guy. Hachikuji banishes the train of thought.

...

"Hey, Yukinoshita aren't you a loner too?"

"I refuse to classify myself in that category. Even if I was, my reasons for which would be much more valid than yours." This time, Yukinoshita's remark actually does irk Hachikuji. _Oi. If you've got a problem with me choosing to be a loner, let's hear it._

"Since when was being elitist a valid reason to be a loner? 'Being at the top is always lonely', is that it? Well, people like Hayama and your sister certainly don't seem to have that problem, do they?" Hachikuji spits that line back, but regrets it immediately when she sees Yukinoshita's face fall visibly.

"My sister, huh..." Yukinoshita trails off. As if becoming aware of Yuigahama's absence, the room temperature dips again.

Hachikuji looks at Yukinoshita's face. He's smiling, but it makes Hachikuji feel uncomfortable. The image of Yuigahama smiling awkwardly while jumping to hasty conclusions at the shopping mall flashes through her mind, and she realises that Yukinoshita's smile is eerily similar.

 _Teenage angst incoming! Why did I have to say that?_

She opens her mouth to speak, but Yukinoshita continues before she can.

"My sister... has always been the beloved representative of the Yukinoshita family, even though it's technically supposed to be me. I've always followed in her footsteps. My grades have always been top notch, but never better than my sister. I went to this school because it was the school my sister went to, and I'll probably go to the same University that she did. I've never really stepped out of her shadow, and it's likely that I never will." Yukinoshita enters a daze, but feels Hachikuji's penetrating gaze and snaps out of it.

"We were talking about the Cultural Festival before Yuigahama-san interrupted, right? I'm sure you've heard about how my sister organised the Cultural Festival a few years ago."

 _Well, no use forcing a change of subject now._

"And how it was the best Cultural Festival in the history of the school?"

Yukinoshita nods. "I was there to witness it. It was magnificent. Well, anything my sister makes is always magnificent, to the point where they seem to block her out." Hachikuji understands. One's existence being swallowed up by his accomplishments is probably one of the most frightening fates to befall a person. That is why Hachikuji prevents this by minimizing her achievements.

 _I can see where this is going, but go on._ Yukinoshita can probably see the boredom in Hachikuji's expression, but he continues anyway. If anything, it makes him get to the point.

"So basically, I'm going to be undertaking the same task my sister did and organise the festival. Just this once, I want to overtake my sister and prove my worth as the heir of the Yukinoshita family. I don't want-"

Hachikuji can almost finish his sentence. She doesn't.

"-to be outdone by her." The room is quiet again, save for the whirring of Yukinoshita's air conditioner.

What is Hachikuji supposed to say?

Is it really that important to be better than your sibling? Hachikuji thinks of Komachi, and imagines her worried about falling into the shadow of her brilliant role model of an older sister.

Nope, not happening.

Yukinoshita fiddles with his hands, and looks down at the ground. Seeing the usually cold and confident Yukinoshita doing this, Hachikuji feels a pang of unease. He almost looks...vulnerable. _This isn't right._ She sighs and gets up.

 _Do I have to play the hero? I thought we established that I'm the heroine of some Shoujo Manga who's role in life is to sit there and get charmed._

...

Yukinoshita doesn't understand why he said so much to Hachikuji, and he doesn't want to know either. Rather he's more concerned about Hachikuji's response. What expression does she carry now? Disappointment? Concern? Surprise? A million possibilities run through his mind, and yet his courage fails him when he wants to look up.

 _Always dropping the ball at the most crucial time. However much I work toward excellence, I'm still a failure._ Yukinoshita looks at his own hands. Hands that have calluses just from working on a laptop. Hands that have, time after time, grasped and failed to reach the blinding light that is his sister. For the first time in a long while, Yukinoshita realises how laughable it is. How laughable he is.

 _Outdoing my sister by organising a single school event? How petty, how useless is that?_ Haruno will always be the capable one, the one to receive praise, the one who stands in the spotlight _._ The pride and joy of the Yukinoshita family. And here he is, yapping about outdoing her while mimicking her actions. Trying to overtake her yet following in her footsteps.

What was that he told his club members about, again? Something about constantly improving oneself. _I'm such a hypocrite._

…

Yukinoshita breathes in sharply in surprise when he feels the hand on his head, interrupting his thoughts. The hand raises up, and lands on his head again.

 _Pat, pat, pat._

"...What are you doing?" Yukinoshita turns to look at Hachikuji, who looks almost bored while she continues to pat his head.

"That entire rant was basically you saying 'Hurry up and comfort me', right? So that's what I'm doing," Hachikuji says casually, and doesn't stop patting his head.

"You're treating me like a child," Yukinoshita hisses accusingly. Yet he doesn't make any effort to make her stop.

"That's because you're acting like one," Hachikuji retorts. "What're you whining about? Yukinoshita Haruno didn't form a club to help members of the student body, did she? You've already surpassed her in terms of _community service_ , haven't you? This isn't like you, Club President. Where's the cold and unapproachable Yukinoshita that I know? Hurry up and get back on your feet."

Yukinoshita stares at the hand which continues to apply slight pressure to his head. He tries to summon annoyance from the depths of his heart, but realises that he cannot. Instead he feels… what does Yukinoshita feel right now? From a simple head pat? Is he he supposed to feel relieved? Comforted? Touched?

And despite his internal denial, he does. Why? _My guess is as good as yours_ , as Hikigaya-san would say. Yukinoshita sits in this slightly awkward position for a while, staring at the bored look on Hachikuji's face and secretly enjoying the slight pressure atop his head. At some point in time, Yukinoshita's mind completely shrugs off its troubles.

Hachikuji drags her feet back to her seat on the other side of the couch. She pauses before she continues, scratching her face.

"The past few weeks have been hard on you, and I can see that. I know that you've got this honour thing going on between you and your sister, but it doesn't make it reasonable for you to kill yourself in the process. So… you know, rest well, and blow your sister away with a fantastic festival."

 _Seriously, what am I supposed to feel?_

But Yukinoshita can already feel himself beginning to smile. Wanting to laugh, even. When was the last time he did that? Probably when Hachikuji cracked her tasteless joke when the Committee was discussing the festival theme. Somehow it seems that all the events in his life worth noting involve this girl in one way or another. How pathetic.

 _Seriously, this girl…_

Still smiling, he looks at Hachikuji, who blinks back owlishly.

"Thanks, Hachikuji-san."

"No problem?" Hachikuji instinctively restrains herself from smiling back, but Yukinoshita understands anyway. Then she casts her glance away in the mortified fashion which indicates she is going to say something embarrassing. _I'm starting to read her too well,_ he realises in a brief, horrifying moment.

"You... don't be afraid to split the workload with me and Yuigahama, all right? The rest of the committee may be senseless slackers, but we are your official underlings, after all. We're supposed to share your suffering."

 _What an eerily negative connotation._ Yukinoshita Yukio smiles a genuine smile for the third time since the festival planning started. "I'll manage just fine on my own, Hikigaya-san."

"I-I didn't exactly mean what I said earlier, alright? T-This isn't an issue about competence, it's about trust!" stammer Hachikuji while she jabs an accusing finger in his direction. _What's with my tsundere reaction? What's wrong with me?_ "You can't run a club without trusting the members to do the basics. Get off your high horse already, dammit!"

Is that a hint of bitterness he hears in her voice? Well, not like Yukinoshita can blame her for that. Suddenly, the rivalry with Haruno that has only ever existed in his head doesn't seem so imposing anymore. He smirks.

"Hachikuji-san. You seem to have a flair for provoking others, but it appears your skill set is limited to that. Fear not, for I will put your abilities to the most optimal use."

"S-Screw you!" She appears to be more attractive when she blushes. Yukinoshita tells himself that it is due to the red tint on her face obscuring her dead fish eyes, and is completely unrelated to his personal opinion.

It also appears that his club members care for him to a greater extent than he thought. Though he would never admit it, the very thought seems to lifts the burden off his shoulders, if only just a little.

"In all seriousness, though," he interpolates, causing Hachikuji to immediately cease her mortified blustering. "Thank you, Hachikuji-san. As you might already know, I am not used to this sort of thing, and it will be an uphill challenge for me. However, rest assured that I will try my best. After all, putting my trust in both of you is merely the behaviour befitting the president of the Service Club."

The tea from both their cups stops steaming. Neither of them notice.

…..

"Get well soon, alright?"

Hachikuji exits Yukinoshita's apartment and walks down the hallway to the lift.

Yukinoshita closes his door and sighs. Today has been a long day. Recalling Hachikuji's (accusatory and degrading) pep talk, he smiles to himself for the (fifth? He's lost count.) time in weeks. He certainly didn't expect Hachikuji-san to do something like that for him.

His eyes fall onto the laptop on the table.

Before leaving, Yuigahama gave him some health products that would supposedly help him recover faster, and he has already asked the doctor to prescribe the strongest medicine possible. As it stands, he should be in working condition by tomorrow.

Maybe he'll put off working on the festival a bit longer.

...

At some point on the way home, Hachikuji pauses abruptly. To an onlooker, she would be appearing to communicate with the row of street lamps.

"...Wait. Did he call me by my first name?"

 **END OF CHAPTER 7**


	8. Chapter 8

Part 1

The Vice-Chief Executive of the Culture Festival Planning Committee slams both palms onto his desk. "The festival starts in a week. We can forget about adhering to our schedule; there is no hope of getting back on task at this point. It appears that all of you have been slacking off." All members of the Committee simultaneously flinch under his stare.

A male student speaks up. "Um, Yukinoshita-san. We simply did what Sagami-san instructed us to..."

"Did her instructions ensure that you would get everything planned out by next week?"

"Uh, not exactly... I mean, we did think that we wouldn't get anything done at this rate, but we followed her orders to the letter!"

"Then the fault lies with you. As subordinates, is it not your responsibility to accomplish the tasks given to you by your superiors and take the initiative to do more than the bare minimum? All of you simply used Sagami-san's lack of further instruction to lay-off doing extra work." Already, Hachikuji can hear the discontented murmuring of various members rising as tension escalates.

The unchosen representative is no exception. His face literally reddens with anger. "Yukinoshita-san, there is no need to do extra work if the Chief Executive deems it unnecessary. We were simply doing our jobs as obedient subordinates!" The disgruntled murmurs quickly undertake an approving undertone. Hachikuji scoffs inwardly.

"And where was this obedience when I planned our schedule and gave out the orders? I had extension requests from nearly every department, and yet I did not see any of you struggling to complete your respective tasks. I was told that the work distribution was unfair, although I observed that several members were using other individuals to relieve their workloads. I received various complaints that meeting times did not provide enough time to work, but none of you stayed back after meetings to work overtime. With a few exceptions, of course." He breaks his icy glare to throw a pointed glance at Hachikuji. _Oh, stop it. You're gonna make this pure maiden blush._

"All of you played no small part in hindering our progress, and now you intend to pin all the blame on your Chief Executive? For shame. As a whole, your work ethic is poor. This is my order to you as Vice-Chief Executive: Change your attitude, or go elsewhere to play around. If we are to get this festival up and running, we will have to put in no small amount of effort for the next week. Now get to work!" As if a switch has been flipped, the stunned Committee members jerk to life, and the meeting room is ablaze with newfound energy within seconds.

Against her will, Hachikuji cheers inwardly. _Degrading his subordinates and making them feel guilty about it? Classic Yukinoshita. He shouldn't have shifted the blame away from Sagami, though._ Despite her determination to carry a neutral attitude towards her work, Hachikuji cannot help the sliver of spite towards the Chief Executive, who has gotten off scot-free once again.

Right now said Chief Executive is standing, shell shocked, while her own subordinates mill around her and disregard her existence in favour of actually getting some work done. Yukinoshita turns to her.

"Sagami-san. There are quite a few documents that require your approval. May I ask you to look through them and give them a stamp?"

Sagami's face contorts grotesquely as a myriad of negative emotions flit across her visage. Not that Yukinoshita sees it, of course; he's too absorbed in his laptop to spare her a glance. He starts when she slams the Chief Executive's stamp onto the desk right next to him.

"If you're so damn capable, do it yourself," she hisses.

The Committee members pause. Nervous tension fills the room once more.

Yukinoshita doesn't look up, even despite the clear animosity in Sagami's voice. "Sagami-san, this is one of your responsibilities as Chief Executive. Are you sure you want to pass it to me?"

Sagami rears back and grits her teeth. Evidently she was expecting a refusal and some kind of assurance that her presence is needed for the team to succeed. _That tactic may have worked on Hayama, because that guy would say anything to get you to cooperate at this crucial stage. Looks like you overestimated Yukinoshita, Sagami._

The frustrated look on Sagami's face is priceless. Hachikuji snickers just loud enough for Sagami to hear, then just a little louder when Sagami bolts out of the room, furiously wiping at her face. Comeuppance has arrived, just not the kind Hachikuji would have expected. From the opposite end of the room, Hiratsuka-sensei casts her a warning glare.

As the room gradually livens up again, Hachikuji sidles up beside Yukinoshita. "Good job."

"Thank you," says Yukinoshita as he lifts his head, but his eyes have a hint of confusion in them. "I have been performing my duties as usual. What did I do to warrant that rare praise?"

Hachikuji blinks. "Pissing Sagami off and all that. I thought that would be good for her. Make her reflect on her own actions and stuff..."

Yukinoshita blinks. "...When did I aggravate her? All I did was receive permission to use a stamp on her behalf."

Does this mean he was oblivious to everything that was happening in that exchange? Hachikuji already thought he was dense, but this...

"...Unbelievable."

"Excuse me?"

Hachikuji sighs. _Boys._

Part 2

As an optimist would say, the day has finally come. The atmosphere buzzes with excitement, and the noise levels are at an all-time high; the taste of joyful youth lingering in the air. Students are streaming down the corridor with their friends and cliques, milling around aimlessly with smiles plastered over their faces. Truly, this is Sobu High's acclaimed culture festival.

As Hachikuji would say, an optimist is simply a pessimist without experience. Hapless, she sits glumly at the admissions table. She was asked (read: coerced) to take the booth, and for better or worse there was nothing on her schedule to do anyway. Casually giving out tickets and accepting cash in exchange, Hachikuji decides that she has gained insight into her future career options; namely, what she will definitely not be doing.

"Yo, what's up?" Looking up, Hachikuji sees Yuigahama in front of her, wearing his ever-bright smile. He moves to sit down next to her with an inaudible grunt.

"What, you aren't with your edgy friends? And these seats are for the committee members, get off."

Yuigahama flashes a smile and replies "Don't be like that. They're good people once you get to know them, really. Hayato-kun wanted to try out the haunted house, but horror's not really my thing, so..." As if to give himself an excuse to stay where he is, he slumps forward onto the desk.

 _Oi, don't blatantly ignore my second statement._

"So, how's it going?"

Hachikuji turns back to the line forming in front of her booth and continues to idly give out her tickets, an inexplicably bored expression on her face (even more so than usual). "It's pretty boring. Not that I'd complain," she replies with a sigh.

Yuigahama laughs placidly in response, before awkwardly looking away. "I heard that there was an, uh, argument of sorts between Yukinon and Sagami-san." He continues staring straight at the ground, as if there was something there which has piqued his interest.

With Yuigahama in the top caste, Hachikuji already finds herself getting used to the fact that he has free access to practically all the student information in the school. Thinking back to the nightmare of a week she had had leading to the festival, she shudders. "Don't even talk about it."

Yuigahama smiles. "I'm glad that the festival is going on without a hitch though. You played a great part in it, didn't you, Hachikuji-san?"

"I didn't do anything," Hachikuji grunts noncommittally. The morning sun feels a little too hot on her face. With that, the conversation breaks into a lull, the silence between them occasionally broken by the background chatter and the sound of tearing tickets.

"H-Hey, Hachikuji-san, I can take over things from here, so why don't you go over to the class booth to help out with things there? You can take a rest and check out the other booths too." Yuigahama flashes his signature winning smile, but Hachikuji sees the slight nervousness in his eyes, the redness in his ears.

 _Really? I can skip work?_ Hachikuji nearly jumps for joy.

"Thanks. I'll leave you to it." Hachikuji gets up and begins to walk in the direction of the stairs. Looking back, she decides to give a final wave to Yuigahama, but was startled to see that Yuigahama has beaten her to the punch. Admitting defeat, she waves back, pulling up the corners of her lips into what she hoped was a slight smile. He seems to be engaging the incoming visitors in animated conversation, which was unfortunately something Hachikuji could never bring herself to do. _He sure has changed a lot..._ a pang of sentimentality twinges in Hachikuji's heart before she can stop herself.

...

...Are her eyes deceiving her, or is the line already longer than when she was manning the booth? _Hey, what's with this discriminative treatment?_ Now feeling somewhat annoyed, she turns back and continues to walk, this time at a brisker pace.

Approaching the stairs, she hears a familiar voice around the corner.

"I've told you that the concert preparations should have been completed one hour before the actual event! Please tell the team to get ready as soon as possible, or we'll be running behind schedule."

"Y-Yes. Vice Chief Executive!" the terrified committee member squeals nervously.

"Hey, Yukinoshita." Hachikuji turns the corner with a hand already up to greet him.

"Well, if it isn't Miss perfectly-capable-of-doing-more-but-sitting-at-the-ticketing-booth-doing-nothing."

 _Ouch! My delicate maiden heart! You could cut someone with those insults which probably got old by the time you reached preschool._ Out loud, she says with the air of faux intelligence, "The wisest individual I know once said that those who take the small jobs that everyone else refuses to do are the pillars of the working world."

"Well then, Miss Wisest-individual-you-know, I suppose you coerced Yuigahama-san into being a pillar of the working world in your stead?"

"He volunteered," Hachikuji drawls. "Not my fault. He asked me to man the class booth, but I'm guessing Sagami's there already."

"Well, you guessed right," Yukinoshita states dryly with a scowl. "I passed her by just now. She acted like I didn't exist."

"I see. Hey, Yukinoshita."

"Yes?"

"I need authorisation to visit the roof. Come with me."

Yukinoshita frowns and opens his mouth to spout a disgruntled plethora of excuses, before catching the look on Hachikuji's face and catching on to her words. "...right."

Part 3

The rooftop has been transformed into a pseudo storage room for the duration of the festival, giving the different groups involved a location to store their logistics temporarily. As the festival has just started an hour ago, there is not a single soul in sight, which is what Hachikuji was banking on.

Why does she need the privacy, anyway? She had the feeling that a conversation was required to boost Yukinoshita's morale, but she hasn't even decided what to talk about yet.

"So, how's the festival organisation going?" Hachikuji asks in as placid a tone as she can manage, in a feeble attempt to move the topic at hand away from her lack of contribution thus far as a student committee member.

"As bad as it can get." Yukinoshita gives a dry laugh and leans against the railings.

Hachikuji looks up at the sky. It is a very nice day (from her limited knowledge of what a nice day constitutes), and she can hear the buzz of chatter from the courtyard. It's so peaceful that Hachikuji almost forgets that Yukinoshita is here, and closes her eyes. Losing herself in her thoughts, she nearly begins to hum, but she stops herself and bites her tongue; she would have curled up into a ball and died of embarrassment if she didn't stop herself.

Hachikuji stalls the inevitable for about fifteen seconds before she realises that Yukinoshita has a strict schedule to adhere to and is probably infringing on it to have this talk with her. She clears her throat awkwardly. "So, about Sagami..."

Yukinoshita gives her a warm (at least, as warm as he can make it) smile and silently urges her to continue. When she finds herself inexplicably incapable of doing so, he assures her with a confident smirk. "Don't worry about it, Hachikuji-san. That incident the other day did not bother me in the slightest, and due to Sagami-san's inactivity, the group dynamic of the Festival Planning Committee hasn't changed in the slightest."

Did she really look that worried, Hachikuji wonders, that Yukinoshita had to _crack a joke_ to reassure her? The bonds between people have to be some kind of drug. Hachikuji can practically feel the redness in her cheeks and, to save herself from further embarrassment, turns away.

"Why don't you come and do something actually useful for once? I'm sure it'd be a great help." Yukinoshita says this half-jokingly, a faint smile on his smug, punchable face.

Hachikuji shudders in response. "Spare me. You know me; I find any sort of labour an absolute pain. As a wise person I know once said, energy is best spent when not spent."

Yukinoshita chuckles, the smile on his face becoming slightly more defined."You say that, but it's not like you don't really have anything more constructive to do-"

The clear peal of a standard ringtone pierces the stagnant air. Yukinoshita stops abruptly, and whips out his phone. A moment of silence, then he nods. "Sure, I'm on my way."

Yukinoshita snaps his flip phone shut and sighs. "Sorry, Hachikuji-san. I'll have to be on my way to the concert hall now. Excuse me."

And with that, Yukinoshita briskly walks past Hachikuji and down the staircase. Hachikuji inwardly curses. Why did she even assume Yukinoshita needed moral support, anyway? In the end, all she ended up doing was all for the sake of pointless self-gratification. _You just needed his assurance that he wouldn't do anything to mess up, didn't you? Selfish brat. You're no better than the masses you constantly ridicule._

This self accusation stings less than Hachikuji expects it to. Perhaps it's because she knew this all along. Yes, maybe she's doing this for herself. Even so...

"Yukinoshita!"

Upon hearing his name, Yukinoshita stops halfway down the stairs, looking back at Hachikuji who is now standing at the top of the flight.

"...Do your best." Hachikuji looks away almost immediately after choking out this line. Yukinoshita notices a slight red tinting her cheeks, and, for the first time since meeting Hachikuji-san, decides to act with some tact.

He smiles warmly (at least, as warm as he can make it) in response. In his expression, Hachikuji can sense the confidence, even the slight arrogance in the smile that he usually wears. Funny how you don't notice the previous absence of something until you sense its presence.

"Yeah." Turning back, he makes his way for the hall.

Somehow, it seems that Yukinoshita could have used some encouragement, after all. Hachikuji finds herself smiling back at the empty bottom of the stairwell, her temporary trance cut short by the crackle of static on the P.A. system.

 _Visitors and students, the concert will start in half an hour..._

Part 4

Decidedly, Sagami is having a good day. An incredibly good day, for that matter. She has just spent the past hours hanging out with her friends at the festival, exploring booths and events, essentially having the time of her life. In fact the only thing that remotely bothered them (because obviously anything that bothers her would bother her peers, right? Their bonds of friendship are just that strong!) was their encounter with one of their classmates, who confronted them and accused them of skiving off their duties. _Don't they realise that the organising committee of the festival doesn't have time for class duties_? Annoyed, Sagami ignores the complaints of her classmate and caught up to her two friends, who are now walking among the various booths as if in a trance.

 _Just like in a play. Everything is scripted, everything is fake, everything goes just as planned. Isn't that right, Organising Committee President Sagami-Sama? But alas, your circle of influence is limited to these dumb bitches. Even pretty boy Yuigahama left you in second year to join that Hayama's clique._

Sagami's pupils dilate in horror. This isn't right. She's the Organising Committee Chief Executive, for God's sake. Desperate to maintain a cheerful outward facade, she pushes these thoughts to the back of her head, with little to no success.

"Hey, Mina-chi, let's check out the concert later! It's in 15 minutes." Her friend (Sakura? Was it Sakura?) interrupts her thoughts and puts forward a suggestion, bringing her back to reality with a violent crash. After regaining her bearings, she gives it some thought. It doesn't seem too bad. She's here to enjoy the festival, without any worries, and going to a concert will provide the perfect atmosphere to rid herself of these unreasonable thoughts.

 _Oh, crap!_ She vaguely recalls Yukinoshita saying something about being at the venue 1 hour before the actual event started.

"Sorry guys, I gotta go!" Passing her half-eaten yakisoba bread to her friends, she takes off in a sprint.

…

Sagami bursts into the room panting.

"Sorry I'm late! I got held up." Backstage, committee members are bustling around hurriedly, carrying various chairs and instruments. Sure enough, Yukinoshita is standing right in the centre, barking orders to the backstage team. This kind of situation wasn't a stretch of anyone's imaginations at this point; it's become the norm. Everything seems to be proceeding smoothly under his leadership and nobody bothers even recognising that Sagami has entered the room.

 _See, now? This is what a real director is like. He commands individuals. He ensures smooth operations. He sways the masses in a way that you will never be able to-_

Scrambling to shut the voice in her head up, she blurts out, "I had class dut-"

"Hey, Yukinoshita-san, where do I seat the VIP's?"

"Give them the middle 10 seats of the first 2 rows. We'll be expecting about 16 of them."

 _Nobody is paying any heed to me, why is that?_

 _Take a wild guess. Why do you think?_

"H-Hey, how's all the preparation going?" Sagami looks around for an answer, but no one is bothering to reply.

 _Oh right, these were the people who accused me of giving them permission to slack off._

Sagami glances around apprehensively - everyone is working together in perfect harmony, with Yukinoshita acting as the core, beautifully orchestrating everything, like the perfect orchestra with Yukinoshita as the world-class conductor.

The truth doesn't dawn on Sagami so much as slug her in the face. In this grand orchestra, her presence there is like that of the triangle player; horribly out of sync but unnoticed anyways. Looking around at the faces of the people scuttling around her, a wave of resentment wells up in her. Sagami averts her gaze to the ground.

 _What were they even saying when they blamed me for telling them to do nothing? What kind of leader tells their workers to slack off? I sure as hell didn't..._

"Sagami-san, you'll be going onstage in 3 minutes. Are your preparations for the speech ready?"

"Oh… uh, yeah." Sagami tries to remember the contents of the script that she left at home. It's not like she shunned her duties aside, she is, after all, a fairly capable leader. (She couldn't have been _that_ bad, right?) She'd even spent the time to even make a script, a rare expenditure of energy which a task should be honored to receive from her. As a matter of fact, she was just about to memorise it when her friends called her to talk. By the time they'd finished, it was too late and she had to go to sleep. Therefore, it's not her fault; it's Sakura's (was it Sakura? What even are the other names?) fault!

Yukinoshita cuts off Sagami's frantic self-assurances. "That's good. It's basically the opening of the concert, so you have to deliver it well. But I guess there's no need for me to worry, since it's Sagami-san that we are talking about after all."

Was that sarcasm? With Yukinoshita it's impossible to tell.

Sagami looks up into Yukinoshita's eyes, and is presented with the sight of an ice cold, expressionless and unwelcoming face. It might just be her imagination, but those empty eyes seem to drill right through her, gazing into her soul. In comparison to him, she's just an empty husk of a person - a "leader" who couldn't get anything done, not even a simple script, they seem to say. _Maybe I should have memorised it after all…_

"Well... the thing is, come to think of it, I'm not feeling too confident... why don't you deliver the speech instead?" Sagami was confident about ad-libbing the speech previously, but can now feel her knees getting weaker by the second. After all, it would be horrible for her public image if she were to stutter or even suffer a panic attack on-stage. Shiromeguri-senpai's opening speech and the loud cheers from members of the student body don't seem to be helping either. In fact, they're making her feel even more inferior.

Or is it due to the sheer presence of Yukinoshita, with his overpowering aura of confidence, standing before her, the nervous wreck that she is? A defensive wave of anger boils in her stomach.

Yukinoshita tilts his head, a confused look on his face. "Sagami-san, are you quite alright? It's too late to make any changes to the agenda and I don't have a speech prepared."

"I mean, you're basically the leader, aren't you?"

 _Wait, what am I saying? Who's the Chief Executive here?_

"What are you saying?" Yukinoshita's response mirrors Sagami's thoughts, catching her by surprise. "You're the organising committee head, not me. You're responsible for this event. In other words, it's also your responsibility to address the visitors and students at the concert. You're the one that everyone wants to see."

Amongst the simmering emotions bubbling in her chest, despair begins to claw its way to the surface. "But-"

"To kick things off, we'll have an address by the head of the Culture Festival's organising committee. Without this person, this festival wouldn't have been possible, so please put your hands together and give some uproarious applause to… Sagami Minami!" The loud roars of the audience burst through the curtains into the backstage room, and Sagami feels the force of countless expectations push her forward.

Part 5

Yukinoshita looks at the Sagami standing on the stage, stiff as a stick, staring at the ground in front of her, with one hand fiddling with her skirt and the other clutching the microphone so hard her knuckles were ghostly white, which just so happened to be roughly the same color as her face.

Sagami tries to look at the audience, but everything feels blindingly bright to the point of overwhelming her, as the loud cheers of the audience slowly fade away into her subconscious. She breaks out into a cold sweat, and can hear faint ringing in her ears. Her mouth opens nervously, and shuts again; her tongue feels hot and heavy. Did it really require so much effort just to remain standing before?

"Go-Good morning, everyone-" Loud feedback erupts from the speakers, and she flinches reflexively. Sounds of hearty laughter issue from the audience.

"You can do it!" Someone from amongst the audience shouts encouragingly. Somehow, that stings much more than the laughter ever could.

Yukinoshita sighs. Maybe he should have done the speech after all. _No, that wouldn't solve anything._ In fact, in spite of himself, he feels almost amused by the now speechless Sagami struggling to find her words.

 _Nothing sweeter than schadenfreude, huh._

"W-w-welcome, everyone, to this festival, and this concert. The organising committee has…uh, tried very hard to put together a fun experience for everyone so… please enjoy it. Also, we, uhh.."

 _We? Don't kid yourself. You mean "they". What have you ever done to deserve being part of the committee? Did you do anything at all?_

 _I'm the chief! I had the authority! I was in charge!_

 _You gave all of your authority to Yukinoshita, remember? Even the Head's stamp of approval._

 _So? Everybody respected me! Except for that fish-eyed bitch..._

 _Nah, no one respected you. Just that, she was the only one with the decency to be honest about it._

She realises that she has been spacing out on the stage for too long. Blocking out the voice in her head, Sagami strains to recall snippets of the script in an attempt to continue her fragmented speech and fails horribly. Why... at such a crucial time-

Right. Shiromeguri-senpai wrote most of it.

 _Seriously, how can she possibly call this a memorised speech? It's like she's making it up on the spot!_ Unaware that he actually hit the nail on its head, the junior Yukinoshita glances at his sister, who is sitting next to Hiratsuka-sensei. The paper in Hiratsuka-sensei's hand has been crumpled (almost crushed, in fact). A burning flame rages in her eyes, which the ground has taken up the unfortunate duty of receiving, courtesy of her foot. Clearly, she doesn't look favorably upon the development thus far. As they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Meanwhile, Haruno has clasped a hand over her reddened face, and is trying her best to hold back her laughter, occasionally letting loose a snort. It's evident that however hard she is trying to conceal her laughter, it just isn't enough; she looks almost comical with laughter ready to overflow out of her any minute. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, yet a woman doing the scorning is clearly worse in several ways. But just this once, Yukio can relate.

"Yukinoshita-san, if Sagami-san continues at this pace, we'll fall behind schedule."

 _Right, the schedule._

…..

Sagami's day is... not exactly good. It is said that good things come to those who wait, so after all that has happened, surely something good is bound to happen right? After all, can things get any worse than what has already happened? Well, things are currently a whole lot worse than when she started out, actually. Standing in front of the massive audience, she can almost melt under their collective gaze, and the glaring overhead lights are only making the situation worse. She feels like she is being swallowed whole by the intense glares of every single person in the audience, with nowhere to escape.

 _What's next? I have to… thank our sponsors? I don't know!_

 _...Who are our sponsors, anyway?_

"Sagami-san, we have to hurry up, we're going to fall behind at the pace you're saying your script." Turning to look at the side of the stage, Sagami sees Yukinoshita, who is furtively glancing between his watch and the concert schedule, all the while tapping his foot so fast that it appears to be staying completely still.

 _Shut up, you damn lackey._ But from what he said, it should be alright to end the speech now, right? _We're falling behind time, after all. I can't help it. It's not my fault._

"I-I'd like to thank both our sponsors and everyone who came for the event. Please enjoy the concert!" Sagami walks off the stage in a cold sweat, almost relieved that despite her pathetic performance, a portion of the audience still continues to applaud her. She ignores the fact that the applause is mostly out of pity.

She almost walks straight into Yukinoshita, who hisses, "What are you doing? I told you to speak faster, not to end the speech. You have nearly two pages worth of content that you skipped completely!"

Sagami's jaw nearly unhinges in shock. _What? But he said…_

"Well, it's fine. Being ahead of time is better than being late."

Sagami opens her mouth to speak, but Yukinoshita has already walked off to brief the concert performers.

 _What's with that guy? How can he talk to his superior like that? After not doing a single thing to help me out when I was struggling on stage!_

 _No need to be so defensive. He trusted you to handle this much by yourself, didn't he? Or rather, he trusted you to screw this little task up without his supervision. Ignorant little brat._

 _Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP._

The uncertainty that Sagami Minami has been squashing down at the bottom of her heart suddenly explodes, and the past month's worth of committee meetings flashes before her eyes. Countless thoughts raced through her mind, and none are positive.

Feeling a sudden pang of nausea, she picks herself up and runs from reality.

 **END OF CHAPTER 8**

 **Author's Note: I apologise for the excessive amount of Sagami roasting. She really had it coming, to be honest. Do drop a review, I need the feedback :)**


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